Profiling physical activity patterns among women in Manitoba: What does "moderate" mean?

The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) provides timely estimates of health information at the sub-provincial level. We explore two main issues that prevented us from using physical activity data from CCHS cycle 3.1 (2005) as part of the Profile of Women's Health in Manitoba. CCHS uses the term 'moderate' to describe physical effort that meets Canadian minimum guidelines, whereas 'moderate' conversely describes sub-minimal levels of activity. A Manitoba survey of physical activity interrogates a wider variety of activities to measure respondents' daily energy expenditure. We found the latter survey better suited to our needs and more likely a better measure of women's daily physical activity and health.