New research: The changing views on physical activity in Canada

Understanding the social climate surrounding behaviours is critical because it may help us determine whether a society is engaging in a certain behaviour. In this case, our team was trying to answer two important questions about the social climate surrounding physical activity: whether it’s stable over time and what factors, including age, gender, urban vs. rural environments and political orientation, may play a role.

We uncovered many exciting findings, but one that really stood out was that in 2023, people in Canada see more people exercising and kids playing in their neighbourhoods. We think this could be because of the continued public health messaging about the benefits of physical activity coupled with the lasting impacts of exercise facility closures resulting from the pandemic. It’s possible that during the pandemic, many people and their children found different ways to be active, and they continued with them when exercise facilities re-opened and organized sports returned. I think this speaks volumes about how adaptable people are, perhaps highlighting that they understand the benefits of physical activity, and that despite challenges like the pandemic and exercise facility closures, people of all ages can be active!

I was happy to see that physical inactivity continues to be a major public health concern for people in Canada. This tells us that they’re aware of the importance of this behaviour and the consequences of not getting enough minutes of heart-pumping physical activity each week. It also highlights that despite recognizing this, there is still a gap between intention, motivation and action – and this is where ParticipACTION can come in and help Canada’s population close this gap.

They help provide evidence for the instability of the social climate over time. While most previous work in this area has tried to provide evidence for the role that the social climate plays in physical activity levels, our team provided evidence that aspects of it could be changed and targeted to impact physical activity within the population; however, more work is needed.

That’s a great question and something our team has spent lots of time examining. It’s clear that people in Canada feel that physical inactivity is a serious health concern because out of all eight behaviours we asked them about, physical inactivity was ranked the second most serious. But when looking at the changes between 2018 and 2023, certain events may have impacted people’s views. For example, many people may now consider the pandemic a benchmark when they think about the seriousness of health concerns.

This was one finding our team didn’t predict. We think it may be because initiatives to close roads and improve walking and cycling access during the pandemic shifted people’s baseline perception of the number of people walking or wheeling in their neighbourhoods. However, we didn’t collect this information in our study, and future work should try to confirm this possibility.

One explanation could be that individuals feel more social pressure or expectation to be physically active from their social groups, leading to more physical activity in their immediate social circles. We’ve seen this with other behaviours where an individual values the thoughts of people they care about.

Like other results from this study, our team is unsure of why this didn’t change. It could be that collective norms – perceptions of the political landscape, social institutions and social issues – require more effort to change. For example, at the population level, it may be easier to target other aspects of the social climate, like attitudes surrounding the seriousness of physical inactivity, rather than change the political landscape of a social issue. The significance of this finding is two-fold. First, it’s a positive finding because it suggests that most people in Canada are likely open to policy and practice interventions that go beyond focusing on the individual. Second, we know that people who believe that it’s the individual’s fault for a health concern are less likely to support policies surrounding health behaviours. This makes it difficult for policymakers and interventionists to change a behaviour within the population. Perhaps more research should be done to better understand how to change these individuals’ beliefs.

First, it’s important to highlight that many people in Canada have positive feelings, attitudes and beliefs about physical activity. This may be the result of Canada’s great public health messaging surrounding physical activity. Plus, this work provides the first sign that the social climate is flexible and likely a worthwhile target to consider when looking at physical activity within the population. Finally, it acts as a building block for future work to better understand how the social climate can be used to help get more active!

Our work provides many opportunities for future research. For example, we must continue monitoring the social climate to fully understand how stable the measured aspects of it are. More work is also required to understand the likely bidirectional relationship between physical activity and the social climate within the population.

As a thought leader in the physical activity space, it’s crucial that ParticipACTION continue to use the best available evidence and research. Having a solid understanding of the beliefs, norms and values people in Canada have towards physical activity is important for ensuring strong alignment between our audiences’ needs and our organization’s mission, vision and goals.

The findings are very relevant to ParticipACTION’s work, from content marketing to knowledge mobilization and advocacy efforts. We want to create tailored content and resources that meet the identified needs of our audiences and ensure that we’re engaging them in the best ways possible. Understanding the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ of [low] physical activity participation and potential solutions is crucial as we plan future initiatives.

The physical and social environments where we live, work and play must be favourable for healthy behaviour change. If we want to help people in Canada be more active, we need to feel that we have the right supports in place. Normalizing physical activity as a “need-to-have” versus a “nice-to-have” is a step in the right direction.