Active Canada 20/20: a physical activity plan for Canada
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Physical inactivity is a pressing public health concern. In this commentary we argue that Canada's approach to increasing physical activity (PA) has been fragmented and has lacked coordination, funding and a strategic approach. We then describe a potential solution in Active Canada 20/20 (AC 20/20), which provides both a national plan and a commitment to action from non-government and public sectors with a view to engaging corporate Canada and the general public. It outlines a road map for initiating, coordinating and implementing proactive initiatives to address this prominent health risk factor. The identified actions are based on the best available evidence and have been endorsed by the majority of representatives in the relevant sectors. The next crucial steps are to engage all those involved in public health promotion, service provision and advocacy at the municipal, provincial and national levels in order to incorporate AC 20/20 principles into practice and planning and thus increase the PA level of every person in Canada. Further, governments, as well as the private, not-for-profit and philanthropic sectors, should demonstrate leadership and continue their efforts toward providing the substantial and sustained resources needed to recalibrate Canadians' habitual PA patterns; this will ultimately improve the overall health of our citizens.
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National physical activity action plans are a 'call to action' for proactive initiatives to increase physical activity using strategies and locations that reflect the social, cultural, economic and political contexts of a country.
“National physical activity action plans are a ‘call to action’ for proactive initiatives to increase physical activity using strategies and locations that reflect the social, cultural, economic and political contexts of a country.142–146”
From Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020) (2020) · cites this paper as [142]
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- 2010, February ParticipACTION's Policy and Capacity Building Advisory Group identifies gaps and decides to develop a sector-wide national physical activity framework/strategy. 2011, February Active Canada 20/20 Steering Committee established. 2011, June Draft Active Canada 20/20 Strategy presented to members of ParticipACTION's advisory groups. 2011 Steering Committee fine-tunes Active Canada 20/20 Strategy and develops Consultation Strategy. 2011, July Domain name purchased and website developed. 2011, July Stakeholders engaged in national online survey (683 responses). 2011-2012 Stakeholders engaged in face-to-face consultation sessions in 12 out of 13 provinces and territories (Sept 2011 -Jan 2012). 2011, October National online survey: Aboriginal stakeholders (approx. 450 responses). 2012, January Finalized Active Canada 20/20 Strategy document. 2012, February Presented to federal/provincial/territorial (F/P/T) deputy ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation. 2012, January & February Presented Active Canada 20/20 Strategy and consultation results: Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) Summit; 4th Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (CDPAC) Conference. 2012, June Presented Active Canada 20/20 Strategy document to F/P/T ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation, Inuvik, Northwest Territories. 2013, February Development of an evaluation framework through the leadership of the ParticipACTION Research Advisory Committee. 2013, May A two-day National Gathering was held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to create momentum in the country for collaborative implementation of Active Canada 20/20. 2013, May; ongoing Action groups established to coordinate efforts in four priority areas identified at the National Gathering: Active Transportation; Inclusion/ Accessibility; Schools; Active Play. 2013, August F/P/T ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation called for collaboration and alignment between the Canadian Sport Policy, Active Canada 20/20 and the National Recreation Agenda, Sherbrooke, Quebec. 2014, November Pathways to Wellbeing. Framework for Recreation in Canada; National Summit. 2015, February F/P/T ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation called for review of Active Canada 20/20 with a "view to developing a pan-Canadian framework to be brought to Ministers for endorsement at a future meeting," 27 Prince George, British Columbia. REFERENCES
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- Authors
- Spence, J. C., Faulkner, G., Bradstreet, C. C., Duggan, M., & Tremblay, M. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CA)
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Spence, John C.
- Venue
- Canadian Journal of Public Health
- Published
- 2015-11
- Volume
- 106
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- e470-e473
- ISSN
- 0008-4263 (ISSN-L)
- 1920-7476
- PMC
- PMC6972327
- OpenAlex
- W2297899313
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 2.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Canadian Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Public Health Policies and Education
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
- Keywords
- physical activity, physical inactivity, National Physical Activity Plan, public health policy, health promotion, intersectoral coordination, corporate engagement, government funding, Canada
- MeSH terms
- Canada, Health Promotion, Humans, Motor Activity, Public Health
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