"Fat Canadians still expanding but not as fast as Americans" (The province)

This morning in between clients, I decided to make a quick pit stop at Delany's for a nice cup of Joe (I don't even know why it's called that). I was looking through the Province newspaper and came across this article (Title above) by Peter O'Neil. I was shocked but not surprised by the numbers and the fact that they are not only amazingly high, they are also increasing.

- Canadians are among the fattest people in the Western world. 60% of Canadians adults are overweight (which is up 2% from 2008) and 1 in 4 (24%) are obese!
- The problem is worse for men at 66% and females at 54%.
- In contrast, the thinnest are the Japanese 24% overweight and 3% obese.
- They say, the goodnews, we are getting fatter every year, with the proportion of overweight people expected to rise 5% over the next decade.
- In America, they estimate that 3/4 of the population will be overweight by 2020.
- The report states that 25,000 to 40,000 pre-mature deaths could be avoided annually with stronger "interventions" such as education in schools, mass-media campaigns, better food labelling, industry self-regulation and improved physician counselling.

Here is a table that summarizes each province and how they stack up to one another:

Province Estimated Population Overweight/Obese:

British Columbia 4,413,973 59.0 %
Alberta 3,497,881 60.9 %
Saskatchewan 1,006,644 68.1 %
Manitoba 1,193,566 62.5 %
Ontario 12,861,940 58.6 %
Quebec 7,730,612 56.3 %
New Brunswick 751,250 64.4 %
Nova Scotia 935,573 59.7 %
P.E.I. 139,089 66.5 %
Newfoundland 508,099 71.0 %

(All data courtesy of Statistics Canada. Source: Regional differences in obesity. Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.ca/english/studies/82-003/archive/2006/17-3-c.pdf, June 2008)

I know there are a lot of overweight and obese people in this country. However, Vancouver, where I live, has the lowest percentage at 12% obese.

Health Canada can say all they want about what is going to stop this epidemic but in the end, the choice comes down to the person. Just like finishing a 100 miler, you have to want it pretty bad!!!! The power comes from within and believing you can do it.

Food companies can change a label to say 'THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU BACK AWAY NOW'- and it wouldnt stop people from buying it. Just like ciggarrettes, unless the person wants to change, a label on a package, no matter how disgusting it is, won't change the behavior unless they want to change it.

Anywho, just some food for thought...

See you in the trails!