Obesity Doubles in Canada Since 1985
Excerpt by Dennis Bueckert, Canadian Press

The fat isn't just creeping up on Canadians, it's galloping.

The prevalence of obesity among Canadian women has doubled over the last 15 years, new data show. For men it has more than doubled. "It's astounding," Heather Maclean, of the Centre for Research and Women's Health at the Sunnybrook and Women's Hospital in Toronto, said.

Many people are too busy to exercise or to cook properly and there is greater dependence on fast food, she said.

"We are steadily gaining weight, and of course it's happening to children as well. You see it, and it's scary."

From 1985 to 2001, the prevalence of obesity increased to 14 per cent from seven per cent among women, and to 16 per cent from six per cent among men.

Under Health Canada guidelines, a person with a body mass index of 30 or over is defined as obese. The index relates a person's height to their weight.

"This is really a national health emergency."said Donna Stewart of the University Health Network at the University of Toronto, co-author of a report on women's health in which the figures are cited.

She noted that obesity is a factor in many serious health conditions, from diabetes to heart disease.

Canadian men continue to be fatter than women on average, but women are catching up.

Forty per cent of men were overweight in 2001. From 1985 to 2001, the percentage of women defined as overweight increased to 26 per cent from 19 per cent. Health Canada guidelines define overweight as a body mass index of 25.

Population aging is one factor in the flab epidemic, but it can't explain such a dramatic increase, said Stewart.

Maclean said women are much more aware of weight than men, which has resulted in lower obesity rates among women, although it has also contributed to eating disorders.

"I think we have a lot of cultural shifts to make," she said. "We live in a culture that promotes gluttony but glorifies thinness."

She said the immense interest in dieting is basically misdirected.

"Weight loss per se is notoriously unsuccessful. As trite as it sounds, it takes a lifestyle change. You have to increase your activity - you can't just diet."

Maclean said many people are too busy to get exercise, and many can't afford to join a gym.

She said communities should do everything they can to provide inexpensive opportunities for exercise, for example by opening school gyms at night.

She lamented the federal decision to shut down the Participaction program, which promoted exercise, and the reduction of physical education programs in many schools.

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