Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
November 2021
Trends in physical fitness among Canadian adults, 2007 to 2017
by Caroline Y. Doyon, Rachel C. Colley, Janine Clarke, Ian Janssen, Brian W. Timmons, Grant R. Tomkinson, Mark S.Tremblay and Justin J. Lang
Health-related physical fitness refers to an integrated series of characteristics, including cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), musculoskeletal fitness (strength, power, endurance and flexibility) and adiposity, that collectively describe an individual’s ability to perform physical activity. A large body of evidence has shown that aspects of physical fitness, especially CRF and adiposity, are associated with cardiometabolic health and are strong predictors of future morbidity and mortality. Since the early 2000s, research has also identified important associations between musculoskeletal fitness and health outcomes. In addition to being used as a proxy for overall and upper limb strength, several studies support the importance of handgrip strength as an indicator of current and future health. Research also suggests that handgrip strength is a correlate of bone mineral density and a potential predictor of frailty and fall-related fractures among older adults.
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Trends in physical fitness among Canadian adults, 2007 to 2017
- Fowles J, Roy J, Clarke J, Dogra S. Are the fittest Canadian adults the healthiest? Health Reports 2014; 25(5): 13-8.
- Shields M, Tremblay MS, Laviolette M, et al. Fitness of Canadian adults: results from the 2007–2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Reports 2010; 21(1): 21-35.
- Tremblay MS, Wolfson M, Connor Gorber S. Canadian Heath Measures Survey: rationale, background and overview. Health Reports 2007; 18(Suppl.): 7-20.
The prevalence and correlates of workplace infection control practices in Canada between July and September 2020
by Peter M. Smith, Brendan T. Smith, Christine Warren, Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Sarah Buchan and Cameron Mustard
The COVID-19 pandemic is having profound impacts on the nature and availability of work globally. As part of the public health response to COVID-19, governments across Canada closed non-essential workplaces. This has resulted in large numbers of workers moving to remote work, while others have lost their jobs or had their hours greatly reduced. Amid these changes, there also remains a sizable number of Canadians who are still working at the worksite, many of these jobs involving interactions with coworkers and the public. By virtue of being at the worksite, these workers are at increased risk of being exposed to COVID-19, compared with workers who can work from home, with additional variation in risk related to characteristics associated with different occupations and also with increased risk of COVID-19 (e.g., contact with the public).
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The prevalence and correlates of workplace infection control practices in Canada between July and September 2020
- Statistics Canada. Labour Force Survey, March 2020: measuring the labour market is not business as usual for the week of March 15 to 21. The Daily 2020; April 9.
- Statistics Canada. Labour Force Survey, April 2020: exceptional times continue in the labour market. The Daily 2020; May 8.
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