June 17th, 2009 by 
Writer
It is generally considered that obesity and overweight rates have greatly increased in the Canadian population during the past several years among all age groups and genders.
According to statistics, Canadian children and adolescents, (ages 2 to 17) showed that 12% of this age group were overweight and 3% were obese in 1978 and by 2004, the obesity facts and overweight facts showed that the same age group was 18% overweight and 8% were obese, which is over 1.6 million in these two classifications for a combined rate of 26%.
It is even more suprising when we look at the overweight and obesity facts by age groups. Among children between age from 2 to 5, the obesity and overweight rate stay the same, whereas for children between 12 to 17 years old, overweight rate is doubled and obesity rate is tripled.The trends among the sexes were almost the same.
There are some difference of this for different provinces. The highest overweight and obesity rates have been found from the Atlantic provinces according to statistics.Newfoundland, Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba were above the national averages in overweight. Newfoundland, Labrador and New Brunswick were significantly higher in obesity than the national averages, according to the results of the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey on Nutrition. It has been found similar statistics can be seen in the American population.
What causes this to happen?
It is considered that increased consumption of fast food and inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables have greatly contributed to the obesity and overweight rates. The other reason which contribued to obesity and overweight is the current sedentary lifestyle of watching too much tv and playing video games as well as sitting in front of computers, which is found common in both Canadian and American populations.
When it comes to adults, the overweight facts and obesity facts tend to be related to lower socio-economic status where middle-income households were more likely to be overweight or obese than low-income and high income households. Moreover, education level also contributes to obesity and overweight facts among the adult group; in particular, households with a lower education level is considered to have a greater chance of being found overweight or obesity.
The best and most effective treatment of obesity and overweight for both adults and teens is to eat more vegetables and fruits, less fast food, spend less time playing video games, sitting in front of tv and computers, and exercise on a regular basis .
Various statistics have indicated that it is easier for young people to gain weight when they enter adulthood and the fat accumulated during that time period is hard to burn after. This pattern is likely to put an additional burden on the healthcare system as overweight and obese people tend to have more health problems.
There is a need to address the overweight and obesity problems in all age groups, but particularly the adolescents, who are showing the most marked increases which will eventually result in large increases in the adult population, which is also increasing.
Furthermore, it is necessary to mention that overall, obesity and over-weight is a common phenomenon in both Canadian and American population relating to environmental and social issues.
Governments of both countries need to take appropriate actions in addressing this problem for the good of the general public.
