Health associations with meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

ABSTRACT

Background

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults (18-64 years and 65 years or older) were launched in October 2020 and provide evidence-based
recommendations for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. The purpose of this study was to examine whether meeting the 24-Hour Movement
Guidelines overall, and different combinations of recommendations within the guidelines, was associated with health indicators in a representative sample of
Canadian adults.

Data and methods

Participants were 8,297 adults aged 18 to 79 from cycles 1 to 3 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. They were classified as meeting or not meeting
each of the recommendations required for overall guideline adherence: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (150 minutes or more per week), sedentary
behaviour (8 hours or less per day or 9 hours or less per day of sedentary time, including 3 hours or less per day of recreational screen time) and sleep duration
(7 to 9 hours per day for adults 18 to 64 years old, 7 to 8 hours per day for adults aged 65 years or older). A combination of self-reported and device-based
measures were used. Indicators of adiposity (n=2), aerobic fitness (n=1) and cardiometabolic health (n=7) were measured.

Results

A total of 19.1% of the sample met none of the recommendations, 43.9% met one of them, 29.8% met two and 7.1% met all three. Compared with meeting no
recommendations, meeting one, two and all three recommendations was associated with better health for one, six and seven health indicators, respectively (p
< 0.05). Compared with adults meeting two or fewer recommendations, those who met all three recommendations had more favourable body mass index; waist
circumference; aerobic fitness scores; and triglyceride, insulin, C-reactive protein and serum glucose levels (p < 0.05).

Interpretation

These findings provide support for the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and show that less than 1 in 10 Canadian adults are meeting all three of the healthy
movement behaviour guidelines.