Soaring Obesity Rates Undermining Canadians’ Health

VICTORIA, British Columbia – Obesity rates have increased in almost all age groups over the past 25 years, according to a recent report by Statistics Canada. About 23 percent of Canadian adults are now considered to be seriously overweight, while 8 percent of children ranging in age from two to seventeen are classified as obese. These figures, which are based on direct measurements of respondents’ weight and height, are thought to be more accurate than in the past when studies relied on self-reported measurements.

Mary Bush, Director General of the office of Nutrition, Policy, and Promotion with Health Canada, says the federal government has been working to stem the rise in obesity rates by implementing various programs across the country over the last three years.

“This isn’t new news,” says Bush. “We’ve had federal, provincial, and territorial ministers come together in 2002 and agree that we needed to work together in an integrated way on a pan-Canadian healthy living strategy. At that time, a lot of work was done at the provincial and national levels to try and see what it is that needs to happen.”

Bush says the 2005 budget allocated $300 million to be spent over the next five years on a strategy for promoting health and managing chronic disease. Schools have been identified as “one of the key settings” for addressing concerns related to health in children and youth.

Statscan said obesity rates were the lowest in adults of both sexes aged 18 to 24, and peaked at about 30 percent in individuals aged 45 to 64. The most dramatic rise in obesity rates was seen in people aged 25 to 34, and 75 and older. About one-quarter of seniors were found to be obese. Rates tripled from 3 percent to 9 percent in youths aged 12 to 17 in the last 25 years, with the Atlantic provinces having the highest rates of overweight and obesity among young people, while Alberta has the lowest. The study also showed that income, education, and marital status have an influence on obesity.

While these figures don’t bode well for the health of Canadians, our neighbors to the south are in even more trouble, with approximately 30 percent of adults weighing in as obese- and of those, 5 percent are severely obese. About 33 percent of American women are obese, compared with 23 percent of Canadian women.

Morgan Downey, Vice-president of the American Obesity Association, says that while the reasons for obesity are complex and varied (a recent study showed that even a lack of sleep may lead to excess weight), many doctors, scientists, and health insurance executives in the U.S. are becoming increasingly convinced that obesity is a disease and should be treated as such. The Internal Revenue Service now allows certain medical deductions for treating obesity, and Medicare recognized obesity as a disease last July.

“We’ve been pushing for it to be recognized as a disease for the last seven years,” says Downey.

“We wanted to move beyond the moral baggage that usually accompanies obesity to a more medical and scientific framework. There’s a lot of evidence showing it’s a disease. We now know a lot more about how the brain and stomach communicate to indicate hunger or satiety, and those clearly seem to malfunction in some people.”

Bush says Canada doesn’t plan to go that route, because statistics show that “self-management efforts are very strong here in Canada” and Canadians are aware that improvements are needed in the sphere of diet and exercise.

“Certainly under our healthcare reform we’re looking for multi-disciplinary initiatives. Obesity is a very complex issue but I think that we’re not needing to label it as a disease before we move to empower people to access help, whether it’s self-management or medical management. We’re focused on making sure that we thoughtfully move forward with both knowledge and development research policy, as well as public information and enhanced community capacity.”

The Statscan survey that measured heights and weights is the first of a two-part study. The dietary intake data collected in 2004 will be released this fall.