838 publications from this institution
Background: There is limited Canadian research examining whether directly measured physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) differ between neighbourhoods with different objectively measured socioeconomic (SES) and recreation (REC) environments. Purpose: To determine whether mean adult PA levels, sedentary time and BMIs were different across four neighbourhoods with contrasting SES and REC environments in Ottawa, Canada. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design to collect pilot data of objectively measured height, weight and PA (using accelerometry) and self-reported covariates in 113 adults (≥18 years). Four contrasting neighbourhoods (high REC/high SES, high REC/low SES, low REC/high SES, and low REC/low SES) were selected based on data collected as part of the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression were used to perform neighbourhood comparisons for PA, sedentary time and BMI, adjusting for age, sex and household income and possible interactions. Post-hoc comparisons using Tukey's test were performed. Results: Significant neighbourhood-group effects were observed for light intensity PA and sedentary time. Post-hoc tests identified that the low REC/high SES neighbourhood had significantly more minutes of light PA than the low REC/low SES (Mdiff = 56.05 minutes·day, Tukey p = 0.01). Unadjusted BMI differed between the four neighbourhoods, but the differences were not significant after controlling for age, sex and household income. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that light PA and sedentary time differ between neighbourhoods of varying REC and SES environments after controlling for differences in age, sex and household income. Findings also suggest that other area-level factors may explain these neighbourhood differences.
Research on the health consequences of certain sedentary behaviors and excessive sedentary time has increased in recent years and is commanding increased attention in public health and exercise science-related research (1,2). The Sedentary Behavior Research Network recently published an article reporting the findings from a global terminology consensus project where standardized definitions of key terms used in sedentary behavior research were presented, with the hope of further advancing research in this new field (3). There is clear evidence of enthusiasm in this area of research, and the sensibility of both a temporal trend toward increased sedentary time in contemporary lifestyles and the presumed negative health consequence of such a trend are intuitive and seemingly opportunistic. But are these sensibilities supported by robust scientific evidence? Or has the field of study gotten ahead of itself? Are we overinterpreting the existing evidence base? Are the relations more complex than previously conceptualized? In this issue of Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews (ESSR), Professor Stuart Biddle and colleagues provide a brief review critically examining the evidence that sedentary behavior is causally related to adiposity in young people (4). They argue that despite some consistency of the evidence supporting the observation that increased sedentary behavior/screen/TV time is associated with undesirable adiposity measures in young people, the magnitude of the relations is usually small, based predominantly on associational research, and inconsistent between reported and direct measure methods and often fails to control or account for important factors (e.g., physical activity, diet, sleep) that could mediate or moderate the relations observed. The authors conclude that the current evidence does not support a causal association between sedentary behaviors and adiposity in young people, and they propose a conceptual model illustrating the complexity of this relation. Although the authors restrict their discussion to childhood obesity and adiposity, they remind us of the need to ensure that our research rhetoric does not supersede the underlying evidence. Sedentary behavior research is in its infancy, or at best childhood, and although seems to be a plausible, prominent, and pervasive public health threat, there is some concern that related guidelines, recommendations, and messages may be ahead of the evidence supporting them. In addition to the caution conveyed by Biddle et al. (4), a recent American Heart Association Advisory (1) concluded that "further evidence is required to better inform public health interventions and future quantitative guidelines on sedentary behavior and cardiovascular health outcomes." A comprehensive review by Prince et al. (5) "identifies the need for longitudinal studies, as well as further research on factors in the physical, social, and policy environments" and "recognizes the need to standardize methodology for collecting, defining, and reporting sedentary behavior and correlates." Ekelund et al. (6) concluded that 60–75 min·d−1 of moderate-intensity physical activity may eliminate the increased risk of death associated with excessive sitting in adults but does not eliminate the elevated risk associated with high TV-viewing time specifically. The collective evidence is structurally weak if not equivocal. Balancing the demand for public health guidance in relation to sedentary behaviors with the current state of the evidence is a challenge, and much more experimental research, with measures of the fidelity of interventions, is required. Nevertheless, as Biddle et al. (4) agree, the current approach of discouraging excessive sedentary behaviors, especially TV time, is sensible and the likelihood of benefit exceeds the risk of harm. Mark S. Tremblay Healthy Active Living and Obesity (HALO) Research Group Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute Ottawa, ON, Canada
This article describes how the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) of Statistics Canada has addressed the ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) arising from the survey. The development of appropriate procedures and the rationale behind them are discussed in detail for some specific ELSI. Health Canada's Research Ethics Board, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Data Access and Control Services Division at Statistics Canada, provided advice to the CHMS on ELSI. Statistics Canada's legal obligation to protect confidentiality, the oath of office, and security measures at Statistics Canada are explained. Additional information on safeguards specific to the CHMS is presented. The ELSI discussed include communication and consent, privacy and confidentiality, reporting results to survey respondents, inclusiveness, and storage of biospecimens. Common to all ELSI is the need for respondents' awareness and acceptance of their role in the survey process, and the obligation of the CHMS to respect respondents and the data they provide.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Background Canadian 24-h movement guidelines were developed to improve health of adults. Parents’ healthy behaviours are especially important because they are also role models for their children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate adherence to the three recommendations associated with health in the Canadian 24-h movement guidelines and their relationship with weight status (underweight or obesity) in Japanese parents. Methods This cross-sectional study included 425 mothers and 237 fathers who had children < 13 years of age. Weight status according to measured body mass index (BMI) was classified by < 18.5 kg/m 2 and ≥ 25 kg/m 2 as the cut-off for underweight and obesity, respectively. Meeting the 24-h movement guidelines was defined as: ≥150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (Canadian PA recommendation) or at least 60 min/day of MVPA (Japanese PA recommendation), ≤ 8 h/day of sedentary time which includes ≤ 3 hours of recreational screen time, and 7 to 9 h/night of sleep. MVPA and sedentary time were accelerometer-determined while and screen time and sleep duration were self-reported. Results The prevalence of mothers meeting all three recommendations was 30.6% using Canadian physical activity guidelines and 20.7% using Japanese physical activity guidelines, while that of fathers was 10.6% and 8.0%, respectively. Mothers not meeting the sedentary behaviour recommendation had a lower odds ratio and those not meeting Japanese PA recommendations had a higher odds ratio for underweight compared to mothers meeting the recommendations, adjusted for age and area socioeconomic status. Conclusions The screen time recommendation or Japanese PA recommendation were associated with underweight in mothers. None of the recommendations was associated with weight status in fathers. Further research is needed to understand the relationships among movement behaviours and weight status, particularly among Japanese women, whose routine behaviours may be misclassified as sedentary.
Active travel may be a means of integrating physical activity into an individual's routine. This analysis investigates the relationship between utilitarian walking and cycling and objectively measured physical activity and health-related outcomes in a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults.Adults aged 20 to 79 who participated in the 2007-to-2011 Canadian Health Measures Surveys (N = 7,160) reported the weekly time spent in utilitarian walking and cycling and wore an Actical accelerometer for seven days. They underwent a series of tests to measure physical fitness, body composition, blood pressure, and biomarkers. Differences in physical activity and health-related outcomes across levels of utilitarian walking and cycling were assessed with ANCOVA analyses adjusted for age, sex, education, household income, self-reported usual daily physical activity, and the complex survey design.Utilitarian walking and cycling were associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in a graded manner. Compared with respondents who reported walking 1 to 5 hours a week, those who walked more than 5 hours a week had lower skinfold thickness. Respondents who reported cycling 1 or more hours a week had greater aerobic fitness and lower BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol/HDL ratio, glycohemoglobin, C-reactive protein, and triglycerides than did those who did not cycle. They also had higher aerobic fitness and lower BMI and waist circumference than those who reported cycling less than an hour a week.Cycling at least an hour a week is associated with improved fitness and reduced cardiovascular disease risk factors. Both utilitarian walking and cycling may be means of increasing adults' moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Bibler, Andrew J., Teltser, Keith F., and Tremblay, Mark J., (2021) “Inferring Tax Compliance from Pass-Through: Evidence from Airbnb Tax Enforcement Agreements.” Review of Economics and Statistics 103:4, 636–651.
