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Table 2
Percentage distribution of health benefit ratings of selected fitness measures, by sex and age group, household population aged 20 to 69 years, Canada, March 2007 to February 2009

Health benefit rating and sex 20 to 39 years 40 to 59 years 60 to 69 years
% 95% confidence interval % 95% confidence interval % 95% confidence interval
from to from to from to
Aerobic fitness health benefit zone
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 46 41 51 32† 25 39 59† 51 67
Female 37* 31 44 56†* 50 61 92†* 88 95
Good
Male 26 20 33 40† 32 47 31 24 38
Female 40* 37 44 20†* 16 24 8†*E 5 12
Excellent/Very good
Male 27 19 36 28 24 33 10†E 5 15
Female 23 16 29 24* 21 27 <5†*    
Flexibility (sit-and-reach) health benefit zone
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 61 55 66 42† 37 47 57 52 62
Female 55 52 59 47 39 56 46†* 40 53
Good
Male 16 12 21 19 15 22 19 14 23
Female 16 12 19 20 14 26 18 14 23
Excellent/Very good
Male 23 19 27 39† 36 43 24 19 29
Female 29* 26 32 33 28 37 36* 29 43
Muscular endurance (partial curl-ups) health benefit zone
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 19 14 23 39† 33 45 75† 69 81
Female 46* 41 52 70†* 64 76 87†* 80 94
Good
Male 7E 4 9 5E 3 7 3†E 1 5
Female 10 7 13 9* 6 12 <6†    
Excellent/Very good
Male 75 70 80 56† 49 62 22† 16 28
Female 44* 39 49 21†* 17 25 10†*E 5 15
Muscular strength (grip strength) health benefit zone
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 42 35 49 35† 28 42 58† 52 64
Female 56* 50 61 36† 29 44 37†* 30 44
Good
Male 24E 15 32 19E 11 27 18 12 23
Female 18 14 22 29† 24 34 13† 9 17
Excellent/Very good
Male 34 27 42 46† 40 52 24† 17 31
Female 27 19 34 35†* 29 40 50†* 44 56
Overall musculoskeletal health benefit zone‡
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 30 25 36 29 23 35 61† 54 67
Female 51* 46 56 43†* 38 47 38†* 32 44
Good
Male 32 26 38 30 24 36 25 19 31
Female 28 23 33 36† 32 41 38†* 33 43
Excellent/Very good
Male 38 31 44 41 36 46 14† 10 19
Female 21* 17 24 21* 17 24 24 17 31
Body mass index category§
Obese
Male 19 15 23 27† 21 32 34† 29 39
Female 21 16 25 24 19 29 33† 26 41
Overweight
Male 37 30 45 52† 47 57 39 36 43
Female 23* 17 30 31* 27 35 37† 32 41
Normal weight
Male 43 37 48 21† 15 26 26† 19 33
Female 50 41 60 45* 40 49 30† 23 37
Waist circumference health risk
High risk
Male 21 18 24 38† 30 45 52† 43 60
Female 31* 25 37 47† 41 53 65†* 56 74
Increased risk
Male 14 11 18 27† 21 32 23† 18 29
Female 17E 11 23 18* 13 24 17E 11 23
Low risk
Male 65 61 69 36† 29 42 25† 19 32
Female 52* 43 61 35† 29 41 18†* 13 23
Body composition health benefit zone††
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 20 17 23 33† 27 40 40† 32 47
Female 29* 23 34 36† 31 42 47† 38 55
Good
Male <5     7†E 4 9 12† 8 15
Female <6     10† 7 13 18†* 15 22
Excellent/Very good
Male 77 73 82 60† 52 67 48† 40 57
Female 68* 61 74 54† 48 59 35†* 26 44
Back fitness health benefit zone‡‡
Fair/Needs Improvement
Male 22 18 25 34† 28 40 60† 53 68
Female 30* 24 36 42† 35 49 62† 55 70
Good
Male 21 15 27 23 18 29 21 15 26
Female 17 12 22 21 17 25 17 13 22
Excellent/Very good
Male 58 53 62 43† 37 49 19† 14 24
Female 53 47 59 37† 30 43 20† 14 26
* significantly different from estimate for males (p < 0.05)
† significantly different from estimate for 20- to 39-year-olds (p < 0.05)
‡ based on flexibility, muscular endurance and muscular strength
§ estimates for underweight not reported because of small sample sizes
†† based on BMI, waist circumference and sum of five skinfolds
‡‡ based on flexibility, muscular endurance and waist circumference
E use with caution (coefficient of variation 16.6% to 33.3%)
Note: If coefficient of variation of estimate is greater than 33%, estimate is indicated as being less than upper limit of 95% confidence interval.
Source: 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey.
Date Modified: 2015-07-17

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