Introduction

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The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is the most extensive national survey on physical health measures ever conducted in the country. Data collection consists of two main steps, a personal interview at the respondent’s household followed later by a visit to the CHMS mobile clinic where physical measurements and blood and urine samples are taken. Indoor air samples are also taken from the home to measure for a number of airborne substances.

The CHMS captures a broad portrait of the health of Canadians by gathering baseline data on a variety of topics, including cardiovascular health, nutritional status, chronic diseases and physical activity, as well as exposure to infectious diseases and environmental contaminants. The survey collects health information that can’t be otherwise captured, or that may be inaccurately reported, through self-report questionnaires or health care records.

The CHMS is conducted by Statistics Canada in partnership with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

During CHMS cycle 2, physical measurements were collected in 18 sites across Canada from 6,395 people representing the Canadian population aged 3 to 79. Collection sites were located in seven provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. Collection started in August 2009 and continued until November 2011. Data are representative at the national level.

Many of the data tables for cycle 2 have the same or similar content to the data tables for cycle 1. Appendix 1 provides a concordance table for the two cycles.

Additional data is also available for both cycles in the Health Canada document Second Report on Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in Canada

For additional information about the CHMS: