Figures
released by Statistics Canada in mid-June show Canadians
to be rotund and deeply in denial. When interviewers for
this year's Canadian Community Health Survey asked subjects
whether they were normal weight, overweight or obese,
nearly half answered normal. But when the surveyors set
out with their measuring tape and scales to weigh 4,000
people, they found that only 38.9% had a BMI in the normal
range. The difference was even greater when it came to
self-reported obesity. Only 15% of people surveyed considered
themselves to be obese (BMI over 30) but the real number
is a worrying 24%. The worst culprits were subjects in
middle age, who underestimated their girth by a hefty
12%.
In better news, smoking rates —
particularly among kids — are down slightly from
last year. At least we hope they are — StatsCan
interviewers didn't get the chance to measure subjects'
lung capacity or smell their clothes to make sure they
were telling the truth.
Public health efforts combined
with a healthy push from the profession has smoking
on the run. It took 25 years to do it, mind you. With
one in four Canadians walking around with BMIs over
30 it's time for physicians to join the battle of the
bulge with the same determination your colleagues fought
cigarettes a generation ago.
— Gillian Woodford, Editor
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