The contribution of active transportation to population physical activity levels.

We explored the contribution of active (nonmotorized) transportation, including walking and cycling, to physical activity (PA) levels and its association with PA recommendations adherence (youth: ≥ 60 min/day; adults: ≥ 150 min/week) using self-reported domain-specific and accelerometer-measured PA from Cycles 4 to 6 (2014-2019) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (N = 8620). Recreation and household or occupational PA were similar for users and non-users, but accelerometer-measured PA was significantly higher among active transportation users (12-17 years: 56.6 vs. 47.7 min/ day; 18-64 years: 33.4 vs. 22.8 min/day, 65-79 years: 21.5 vs. 13.7 min/day). Active transportation was not associated with meeting the PA recommendation for youth after adjusting for confounders (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91-2.11), but it was for adults (18-64 years: aOR = 2.71, 95% CI: 2.18-3.37; 65-79 years: aOR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.39-3.69). Given its contribution to population PA levels, supporting active transportation should be considered an important tool for health promotion.