Abstract

Background

Physical fitness during childhood is an important indicator of current and future health. This paper provides an overview of the fitness of Canadian children and youth aged 6 to 19 years.

Data and methods

Data are from three cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) spanning a 10-year period: 2007 to 2009 (n = 2,081), 2009 to 2011 (n = 2,133) and 2016 to 2017 (n = 2,070). The CHMS is a comprehensive direct health measures survey conducted on a nationally representative sample of Canadians. Descriptive statistics for measures of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and power, flexibility, and body composition are provided by age group and sex. Physical fitness measures are presented for participants who met and did not meet the physical activity and screen time recommendations.

Results

Few changes in the fitness measures occurred over the past decade. Cardiorespiratory fitness decreased between 2007-2009 and 2016-2017 in 8 to 10 (52.1 to. 51.0 mL•kg–1•min–1) and 11 to 14 (50.8 to 49.8 mL•kg–1•min–1) year old boys. Girls generally had lower levels of fitness compared to boys, except for flexibility which was higher in girls. Cardiorespiratory fitness was higher in children and youth who met the current Canadian recommendations for physical activity and screen time. Grip strength was higher in boys who met the current Canadian screen time recommendation.

Interpretation

Ongoing and periodic surveillance of fitness through the CHMS is important to monitor trends, assess future interventions designed to improve fitness levels at the population level and to increase our understanding of the relationships between fitness and health.

Keywords

cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular power, flexibility, obesity

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x201901000001-eng

Findings

Physical fitness is a set of attributes that reflect one's ability to perform physical activity and typically includes measures of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and power, flexibility and body composition. Cardiorespiratory fitness is positively associated with improved health in children and youth and large cohort studies have reported a link between low cardiorespiratory fitness in late adolescence and early mortality. Further, fitness in childhood is considered an important indicator of current and future health, independent of physical activity. Evidence indicates that childhood cardiorespiratory fitness levels are declining both worldwide and in Canada. While cardiorespiratory fitness tends to be more strongly associated with health outcomes when compared to measures of muscular strength and flexibility, the other components of physical fitness provide unique information related to physical performance and potentially healthy growth and development. Low grip strength is a risk factor for hypertension and type 2 diabetes and predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. Flexibility during childhood is a predictor of adult health-related fitness while jumping height and power are indicators of anaerobic fitness and important for many activities of daily living. Active children and youth tend to be fitter than less active children; however the relationships among physical activity, sedentary behaviour and fitness remain unclear and have not been examined using population-level data in Canada. [Full article]

Authors

Rachel C. Colley (rachel.colley@canada.ca) is with the Health Analysis Division and Janine Clarke and Caroline Y. Doyon are with the Centre for Population Health Data at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Ian Janssen is with the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies and Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Mark S. Tremblay and Justin J. Lang are with the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. Justin J. Lang is also with the Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Brian W. Timmons is with the Child Health & Exercise Medicine Program in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University.

Start of text box

 

What is already known on this subject?

  • Physical fitness is associated with health among children and youth.
  • Low physical fitness in late adolescence has been linked to early mortality.
  • The 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) was the first time in more than two decades that fitness had been measured at the national level in Canada.
  • A comparison of the 2007-2009 CHMS data to the 1981 Canadian Fitness Survey indicated that muscular strength and flexibility had decreased, and adiposity had increased in Canadian children and youth.

What does this study add?

  • Data from the most recent cycle of the CHMS were used to describe age and sex differences in fitness indicators among children and youth aged 6 to 19 years. Girls generally had lower levels of fitness compared to boys.
  • Data from three cycles of the CHMS (2007 to 2017) were used to assess temporal changes. Few changes were observed in the fitness measures over the past decade using data from three cycles of the CHMS.
  • Cardiorespiratory fitness was higher in children and youth who met the current Canadian recommendations for physical activity and screen time. Grip strength was higher in boys who met the current Canadian screen time recommendation.

End of text box

Date modified: