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Introduction: ParticipACTION is a Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization relaunched in 2007. This study assesses the capacity of Canadian organizations to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity initiatives. The four objectives were to compare findings from baseline (2008) and follow-up (2013) with respect to: (1) awareness of ParticipACTION; (2) organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity initiatives; (3) potential differences in capacity based on organizational size, sector, and mandate; and (4) assess perceptions of ParticipACTION five years after relaunch., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, representatives from local, provincial/territorial, and national organizations completed an online survey assessing capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. Descriptive statistics and one-way analyses of variance were conducted to examine the objectives., Results: Response rate for opening an email survey invitation and consenting to participate was 40.6% (685/1688) and 540 surveys were completed. Awareness of ParticipACTION increased from 54.6% at baseline to 93.9% at follow-up (Objective 1). Findings at both baseline and follow-up reflected good organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity (Objective 2) although some varied by organizational sector and mandate (Objective 3). Most respondents reported that ParticipACTION provided positive leadership (65.3%), but there was less agreement regarding ParticipACTION's facilitation of infrastructure (44.0%) or organizational will/motivation (47.1%)(Objective 4)., Conclusion: Canadian organizations continue to report having good capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. There was no discernible change in capacity indicators five years after ParticipACTION's relaunch although its broader contribution to the physical activity sector was endorsed., Competing Interests: GF, TB, SD, AEL, RER, MST and JS serve on the ParticipACTION Research Advisory Group.

Background: The Internet is a potential medium to attain large groups of Canadians for physical activity monitoring and interventions, however, little is known about the characteristics of participants who could be recruited on a national level. Our objectives were to determine: 1) the extent to which our sample was representative of the Canadian population; 2) the demographic, social-cognitive and physical activity behaviour, and environmental characteristics of one-time and multi-time users of the Canada on the Move website; and 3) whether certain recruitment strategies were more likely to reach specific demographic subgroups., Methods: Web-based self-report measures were collected on demographic, social-cognitive, physical activity behaviour, and environmental factors. Descriptive statistics were employed to address the study's research objectives., Results: Significant differences (p<0.001) were found between our total sample and 2001 Canadian census/Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data on all demographic and physical activity behaviour measures. One-time and multi-time users significantly differed on age (p<0.005) and being responsible for children under age 13 (p=0.01). No differences existed between the groups on any of the social-cognitive, behavioural or environmental variables. Source of knowledge about the Canada on the Move website between one-time and multi-time users was not significantly different., Conclusion: The Canada on the Move website presents a viable approach to reaching diverse demographic groups. Further work needs to be undertaken to: 1) develop engaging websites; 2) detail the monitoring of the web-based access information; 3) integrate the website with other organizations promoting physical activity; and 4) expand the number of recruitment sources.

Background: The purposes of this study were to: 1) explore the potential role of sex in the association between the perceived environment and walking; and 2) determine the efficacy of an Internet-based research platform for collecting population-level physical activity and correlates data., Methods: Visitors to the Canada on the Move website were asked questions about their demographics, physical activity participation and perceptions of their neighbourhood environment. A total of 3,144 Canadians (2,036 women; 609 men) completed the survey. Level of walking was regressed on eight measures of perceived neighbourhood environment in a series of logistic regressions., Results: Individuals who reported interesting scenery (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.71) and many places to go that were within easy walking distance (OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.18-1.64) were more likely to report walking at a level sufficient to derive health benefits. For women, interesting scenery in and around their neighbourhood (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.13-1.74) and the presence of many places to go within easy walking distance (OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.17-1.72) were associated with walking at a sufficient level. Among men, no significant associations were found between the perceived environment measures and walking., Conclusions: The results from this study provide additional support for the use of models in which sex is treated as a potential moderator of the link between the perceived environment and physical activity. Further, the results support the use of an Internet-based research platform to collect data on the correlates of physical activity.

Background: The purpose of this study was to: 1) evaluate the quality of promotional pedometers widely distributed through cereal boxes at the time of the 2004 Canada on the Move campaign; and 2) establish a battery of testing protocols to provide direction for future consensus on industry standards for pedometer quality., Methods: Fifteen Kellogg's* Special K* Step Counters (K pedometers or K; manufactured for Kellogg Canada by Sasco, Inc.) and 9 Yamax pedometers (Yamax; Yamax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) were tested with 9 participants accordingly: 1) 20 Step Test; 2) treadmill at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)) and motor vehicle controlled conditions; and 3) 24-hour free-living conditions against an accelerometer criterion., Results: Fifty-three percent of the K pedometers passed the 20 Step Test compared to 100% of the Yamax. Mean absolute percent error for the K during treadmill walking was 24.2+/-33.9 vs. 3.9+/-6.6% for the Yamax. The K detected 5.7-fold more non-steps compared to the Yamax during the motor vehicle condition. In the free-living condition, mean absolute percent error relative to the ActiGraph was 44.9+/-34.5% for the K vs. 19.5+/-21.2% for the Yamax., Conclusions: K pedometers are unacceptably inaccurate. We suggest that research grade pedometers: 1) be manufactured to a sensitivity threshold of 0.35 Gs; 2) detect +/-1 step error on the 20 Step Test (i.e., within 5%); 3) detect +/-1% error most of the time during treadmill walking at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)); as well as, 4) detect steps/day within 10% of the ActiGraph at least 60% of the time, or be within 10% of the Yamax under free-living conditions.