The aging of Canada's population has contributed to one more predictable effect: a lower overall national participation rate in sports.
The finding was released by Statistics Canada in February as part of a comprehensive study examining participation in sports by adult Canadians.
The report estimated that 7.3-million individuals, about 28 per cent of the adult population, participated in some form of sport in 2005. This was down substantially from 8.3-million, or 34 per cent of adults, in 1998, and 9.6-million, or 45 per cent, in 1992.
As Canadians get older, their rate of participation in sport decreases, StatsCan noted. In 1992, people aged 35 and over represented 60 per cent of the adult population; about 36 per cent of them participated in sports. By 2005, two-thirds (67 per cent) of Canadians were in this age group, and their participation rate was down to 22 per cent. Thus, society is aging and becoming less active, the Statistics Canada reports concluded.
The decline was widespread, cutting across all age groups, education levels, income brackets, both sexes and almost all provinces. Teenagers aged 15 to 18 had the highest participation rate, but that, too, declined, from 77 per cent in 1992 to 59 per cent in 2005.
Canadians aged 55 and over had the lowest participation rate at 17 per cent, down from 25 per cent in 1992.
