Canadian fitness guidelines changed

Victoria Alarcon
Sports & Health Editor
In a move to get Canadians active, the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP) is renewing their guidelines, so they have a more accommodating up-to-date approach to healthy exercise.
“The research behind the level [of exercise] that all age groups should achieve has improved since the last guidelines were released in 1998 and the evidence shows a recommendation different from the old guidelines,” said Mary Duggan, administration manager of the CSEP and one of the people involved in the research done.
In November 2006, a commit- tee was established to re-evaluate Canada’s fitness guidelines and see what changes needed to be made. After third-party experts came and looked over the developments, the guidelines were sent out for feedback. This review incorporated the opinions of thousands of Canadians, retrieved through online or in-person consultations.
“We had very positive feedback – probably 85 percent and above supported the new guidelines and the context,” said Dr. Audrey Hicks, president of CSEP.
The current guidelines state that in order for adults to achieve the recommended amount of physical activity, 60 minutes of light activity (light walking, volleyball), 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity (brisk walking, biking) or 20 to 30 minutes of vigorous activity (aerobics, jogging) are needed daily.
The new guidelines would recommend a cumulative 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week. The research found the new recommendations would not make a dramatic difference in the results individuals achieved, but were instead just a more approachable way for Canadians to stay active.
“The 150 minutes allows people to budget their time individually, and to individually manage. If you want to go for a two-hour hike on Sunday, there’s 120 minutes. If you want to achieve the guidelines, you need another 30 minutes. That’s achievable, and that builds on your confidence,” explained Dr. Jona- thon Fowles, chair of CSEP.
According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadian adults who get the recommended amount of exercise is as low as 15 percent, and the amount of hours adults spend on average on the couch is nine-and-a-half.
The news is no surprise for second-year economics major Sinead Nair, who finds the biggest problem for her is making the time to exercise during the school year.
“It’s making time out of your schedule to go the gym, get there, stay there and get motivated. Doing it regularly is kind of hard because you get lazy and you get tired and you want to sleep in sometimes.”
Currently, 10,000 students are registered at the Tait McKenzie Centre gym, and 15,000 are expected to register by the end of the school year. Brian Connors, manager of campus recreation at York, believes the new guidelines will be helpful in getting Canadians more active and more eager to go to the gym. The goal is for students to balance school life and exercise throughout the year, and to make sure York students believe it is possible, says Connors.
The new guidelines were released on Jan. 24, and were endorsed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Tait McKenzie Gym by the numbers
10,000 Students registered to use the Tait McKenzie gym.
15,000 Expected number of gym-use shoe tags sold by the end of the year.
2,000 Students currently using the Tait McKenzie gym every day.*
4,000 Peak number of students who use the Tait McKenzie gym every day.*
* Not unique visits. Compiled by Victoria Alarcon with files from Steven Dempsey