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Statcan.gc.ca published an article that states: In 2000/01, an estimated 3 million adult Canadians were obese, and an additional 6 million were overweight. Canada is part of what the World Health Organization has called a global epidemic of obesity. The prevalence of obesity is rising not only in western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Finland, but also in countries such as Brazil, China and Israel. In Canada, the prevalence of obesity more than doubled in the last two decades. Even so, at 15% in 2002, Canada’s obesity rate was still below the 21% reported for the United States. Is Canada likely to follow the American lead to the point where one out of every five adults is obese?

Obesity is recognized as a major and rapidly worsening public health problem that rivals smoking as a cause of illness and premature death. Obesity has been linked with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease, some forms of cancer, osteoarthritis and psychosocial problems. The impact on life expectancy is considerable: among American non-smokers, obesity at age 40 has been associated with a loss of 7.1 years of life for women and 5.8 years for men. The same American study estimated that even being overweight reduced both male and female non-smokers’ life expectancy by more than three years.

Obesity results when people consume far more calories than they work off each day. This imbalance has been attributed to a variety of factors that characterize modern life: fast food, growing portion sizes, a sedentary lifestyle, and urban designs that discourage walking. However, some groups may be more susceptible to these influences than others, and therefore, may be contributing disproportionately to the overall increase in obesity.

This analysis uses longitudinal data to follow a large sample of people over eight years to determine the percentage who made the transition from normal to overweight, and the percentage who shifted from overweight to obese. The characteristics that increased the chances that overweight people would become obese are examined. Such information can facilitate targeting of public health interventions to prevent new cases of obesity. Once gained, surplus weight is hard to shed, so interventions that focus on prevention may be more effective than weight reduction efforts.

The study is based on the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), which interviewed the same individuals every two years from 1994/95 to 2002/03. Because patterns of weight gain differ by sex, separate analyses were conducted for men and women.

As you can see from this article, obesity is at a staggering level through out North America. 26 per cent of young Canadians aged 2 to 17 – that's more than one in four – are overweight or obese, compared with 12 per cent three decades ago.

It's time to do something about it, and as a fitness trainer, my goal is to help as many people as I can. I was overweight for years, so this is a strong passion for me. Remember: change begins with you!

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