Obesity in Canada: where and how many?

Abstract

Context: Obesity rates are rising sharply among all industrialized countries; the situation seems to be worse in English speaking countries. Taking into account genetic predisposition, excess of caloric intake combined with low energy expenditure will usually result in obesity. Objectives: To describe and compare regional obesity rates across Canada and assess the ecological relationship between regional rates of obesity, low level of leisure-time physical activity, and low fruit and vegetable consumption. Design: Cross-sectional population-based analysis from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey. Measures and data analyses: Canadian population distributions of body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity and daily fruit and vegetable consumption were obtained from Statistics Canada. All these measures were based on the respondent's selfreported answers to a computer-assisted personal or telephone interview. Obesity rates (BMIX30), rates of low level of leisure-time physical activity (less than 1.5 kcal of energy expenditure per day), and rates of low fruit and vegetable consumption (less than five times a day) for the 106 Canadian Health regions were mapped to illustrate their geographical distribution. Cartograms were used in addition to traditional mapping to take into account the differences in population density between these small areas. Results: In 2003, 15.2% of Canadian individuals aged 20 years and older were considered obese. The rates of obesity varied substantially between the 106 Canadian health regions: from 6.2% in Vancouver to 47.5% in aboriginal population area. At the health region level, low leisure-time physical activity and low fruit and vegetable consumption are both good predictors of obesity (odds ratio of 9.2 and positive predictive value of 93% when considered simultaneously). Conclusion: There is a strong gradient in obesity prevalence between Canadian health regions. At the regional level, high rates of low level of physical activity, and high rates of low fruit and vegetable consumption were both found good predictors of high rates of obesity.

Emerging obesity and dietary habits among James Bay Cree youth

“…The prevalence of overweight and overall poor dietary quality is a public health concern in the three communities. The high proportion of at risk for overweight and overweight youth in the present study is similar to previous studies conducted among the Cree (10,13) and similar to other studies indicating a high prevalence of overweight among indigenous youth (23,24) . The prevalence of overweight in this study population is four to five times higher than that of the general Canadian population of similarly aged children (25) .…”

Prioritizing Obesity in the City

“…1 The health implications of excess body weight 2,3 as well as the increased costs for health care systems 4,5 have been major drivers for managing the epidemic. Much past research has emphasized the importance of individual level factors (e.g., genetics, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors) in determining body weight.…”

Le surplus de poids chez les francophones et les anglophones

“…Ces observations corroborent les résultats issus d'études menées au niveau national qui identifient l'éducation et le revenu 11,12,20 ainsi que le milieu rési-dentiel (urbain ou rural) à titre de déterminants sociaux importants du surplus de poids 21 . Davantage d'hommes que de femmes recensés au sein de notre étude présentaient un surplus de poids, ce qui est également en lien avec la littérature canadienne sur le sujet 11,13 .…”