Don't Blame the Season

Two separate 2005 studies have shown that season plays a fairly small role in determining the level of people’s physical activity. In an American study, published in the American Journal of Health Behavior, the number of physically active individuals varied only 4 percent between summer (48 percent) and winter (44 percent). It should be of some comfort to Canadians to know that people in the northern regions fared much better than their subtropical counterparts.

In a Scottish study, published in Pediatric Exercise Science, researchers found that children’s activity levels were barely affected by the season. In fact, participants engaged in more physical activity during winter than they did in summer. Both studies, however, suggest that the population, in general, engaged in inadequate levels of physical activity regardless of the time of year.

Include some winter activity in your life. Affordable outdoor activities such as snowshoeing and tobogganing are fun and healthy for the whole family.