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Canada  

Obesity Way Up

Obesity rates among children and adults have increased substantially during the past 25 years, according to new results from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), which directly measured the height and weight of respondents.

In 1978/79, 3% of children aged 2 to 17 were obese. By 2004, 8%, or an estimated 500,000 children, were obese. Among adults, the growth in obesity was even more dramatic. In 1978/79, the age-adjusted adult obesity rate was 14%. A quarter century later, 5.5 million individuals, representing 23% of adults, were obese.

Among young people, the biggest increases in obesity rates over the past 25 years occurred among adolescents aged 12 to 17, where the rate tripled from 3% to 9%. For adults, the most striking upturns occurred among people who were aged 25 to 34, and those who were 75 or older where the rates more than doubled to 21% and 24% respectively.

Even so, Canada's adult obesity rate was significantly lower than that in the United States. While 23% of Canadian adults were obese in 2004, the rate was nearly 30% south of the border.

Increases in overweight and obesity were similar among boys and girls. However, trends differed for various age groups.

For example, the proportion of children aged two to five who were either overweight or obese remained virtually unchanged from 1978 to 2004. In contrast, the overweight/obesity rate of adolescents aged 12 to 17 more than doubled from 14% to 29%, while their obesity rate alone tripled from 3% to 9%.

This upturn among adolescents is of particular concern because overweight or obese conditions in adolescence often persist into adulthood.

Rates of overweight and obesity among youth varied across the country, with the highest rates being in the Atlantic provinces.

The survey also found that among children aged 6 to 17, the likelihood of being overweight or obese tended to rise with time spent watching TV, playing video games or using the computer.

During the past 25 years, obesity rates rose for every age group among adults except those 65 to 74. The most striking upturns were among people younger than 35 and those 75 or older.


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