Obesity in Canada




Intake of high caloric foods, inadequate physical activity are in part behind  the alarming surge of obesity. Over the past several years, Canadians have been gaining excessive body mass at an epidemic proportion. An updated estimates from a recent study by the health ministry shows one in four Canadian is obese. The number may even be higher, assuming the bias inherent in self-reported data. Compared with other developed countries, Canada ranks top, in the number of overfed people, just behind USA and England.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a club of rich countries, projects an even disturbing picture: an additional 8 percent growth in the next seven years.

The data hide differences across the country, class, gender and age. Prevalence goes up to 30 percent in some of the 10 provinces. Obesity follows a social gradient, correlating positively with income. While women with poor education are likely to suffer more  than educated women, the gap is absent in men. Among native aboriginal populations, a marginalized minority, the incidence of obesity is almost one and a half times more than that of other Canadians.

 An even worrying trend is the growing number of over-sized waistlines in children. A 2007, self-reported study of obesity among youth aged 12 to 17 years, showed 6.8 percent prevalence for boys and 2.9 percent for girls. Overweight is not only a concern in children, but a major predictor of obesity in adulthood and likely development of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes.

Besides, the physical and psychological problems, excess weight increases significantly the risks of developing lifelong diseases, like hypertension, diabetes and cancers. These chronic diseases are prime causes of excess mortality and morbidity in Canada. The World Health Organization estimates over 200,000 deaths from non-communicable diseases in Canada.

The cost to an increasingly overstretch health care system is equally worrying. According to the most recent Economic Burden of Illness in Canada (EBIC) study, the total cost of chronic illnesses reached $202 billion (2005 dollars) in 2000.  For obesity alone, the estimates break down into $4.3 billion (2005 dollars): $1.8 billion in direct healthcare costs and $2.5 billion in indirect costs. 

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