In mid-late 2025, ATP, along with 6 CanPath regional cohorts, will be administering the largest and most comprehensive Diet & Physical Activity collection in Canadian history.

What is the purpose of the Diet and Physical Activity project?

This project aims to collect diet and physical activity data that can be used to study cancer and chronic diseases.  It is also supported by funding for a project called the HEALthy Eating and Supportive Environments (HEAL) study.  The HEAL project aims to:

• Assess how diet and the neighbourhood food environment are linked
• Examine if diet and food environment are connected to factors such as neighbourhood walkability, physical activity, and other individual factors

Why is this important?

Diet is important for health and wellness. Collecting accurate diet and physical activity data is complex, as our patterns fluctuate throughout the year.  For example, we can eat differently or move differently depending on what season it is, so a single data collection at one time point doesn’t give a complete picture.

This project will use both short-term (past 24 hour) recall tools and long-term (past year) recall tools at different intervals over the course of a year to build a better picture of our patterns.

Overview

You will be asked to complete online surveys about what you eat and drink and your physical activities a few times over the next year:

• You will first be asked to complete a survey (about 30-45 minutes), including questions about you (e.g. sex, gender, household income), and what you typically eat and your usual physical activities.
• Within the next month, you will be asked to report what you ate and drank and your activities (including sleeping, household activities, and leisure activities) in the past 24 hours.
  • Links to online tools to provide this information will be shared via the ATP Participant Portal.
  • You will receive the invitation to share diet information and activity information on the same day, but you don’t have to complete both in one sitting. They can be completed at the same time or at separate times.
  • You will be asked to complete these same tools again about 1-2 weeks later.

• About six months later, you will be asked to complete these diet and activity tools again. One set will arrive within six months of your latest questionnaire, and the next will arrive around 1-2 weeks later.

• Finally, about six months later, you will be asked to complete longer diet and activity questionnaires about your diet and physical activities over the past year.
  • You will be provided with direct links to access the tools.
  • These questionnaires will take about 45-60 minutes each to complete. You will receive the invitation to share diet information and activity information on the same day, but you don’t have to complete both in one sitting. They can be completed at the same time or at separate times.

Total time commitment: approximately six hours over the course of the full study year.

You will receive a summarized report on the diet and physical activity information you provided through the ATP participant portal.

This page will be updated as the project develops.