Healthy Living Unit

Knowledge Development and Exchange

The knowledge development and exchange (KD&E) function of the Healthy Living Unit focuses on informing policy and program decision-making through knowledge capacity development, new knowledge development; knowledge synthesis, and ongoing national and international dissemination and exchange.

Examples:

Physical Activity Monitoring (PAM) Program and Canada's Physical Activity Levels Among Youth (CANPLAY) Study

The Canadian Fitness & Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI) - a national research agency that educates and informs Canadians about the importance of healthy, active lifestyles.

Objectives: The project's objectives are to provide up-to-date information on population physical activity levels for governments, policy and program leaders, academics, researchers, media and others. This information helps federal, provincial, and territorial governments report on progress toward joint goals of increasing physical activity levels among adults (20 years +) by the year 2010, and among children and youth (5 - 19 years) by the year 2015. Information on factors associated with physical activity is collected, including barriers and motivators, beliefs, and intentions. Studies are also undertaken to determine the capacity of specific settings (e.g., workplaces, schools, municipalities) to support physical activity among Canadians. Capacity study themes complement population level data collected in a given year. All studies are national in scope. This information on population physical activity levels, factors associated with physical activity, and capacity of settings to support physical activity, will help shape policies, strategies and practices. The information also helps governments to apply an evidence-based approach to their implementation of the physical activity component of the Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy.

Project name: Advancing the Future of Physical Activity Measurement and Guidelines in Canada

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) is a scientific organization that promotes research and knowledge development in exercise physiology, including physical activity, fitness, health, nutrition, epidemiology and human performance.

Objectives: The objectives of this project are to undertake a scientific review of the current state of physical activity measurement and guidelines; publish the results in a joint special issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health, and the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (APNM); and hold an International Consensus Meeting to develop recommendations on the future of Canadian physical activity guidelines.