Public Health
Physical Activity

Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines
The guidelines set standards for how often and how much activity children and adults should do and make recommendations on how much time you need to spend to achieve health benefits from physical activity.
What can i do to stay active?

Active communities are where:
- Groups, families and people value and support active lifestyles
- Physical activity is accessible, affordable and appealing for all
- Physical activity is available every day where people live, learn, work and play and people lead healthy active lives
Physical activity includes leisure-time physical activity, exercise, sport, transportation, work and chores.
Changes needed to have active communities in Hamilton
Here are some changes that we can make in Hamilton to have active communities:
- Reduce use of cars through programs such as car sharing or carpooling
- Develop transit systems such as Light Rail Transit
- Develop an efficient, convenient and more accessible transit system
- Use compact design for city planning and having mixed use and mixed income housing
- Increase bike parking, sidewalks and safe parks and trails
- Reduce the amount of time spent sitting by increasing physical activity in schools, active transportation such as biking to work, taking active breaks at work and during leisure time such as walking on your morning break at work
- Increase community safety
Benefits of active communities
Regular physical activity provides health benefits and helps prevent chronic diseases such as:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Some mental health issues
- Obesity
- Some cancers
- Type 2 diabetes
- Osteoporosis
Hamilton has many opportunities for being physically active at all ages, whether you enjoy indoor or outdoor activities.
Date modified
August 05, 2022