Obesity Puts a Strain on the Canadian Health Care System

In the last 25 years, the number of obese Canadians has tripled, bringing about additional strain on the country’s already fraught health-care system. At this rate, more than 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer from obesity in the near future. 

Statistics Canada has been keeping a record on obesity by means of surveys conducted over the last 26 years. The data reveals a 12% increase in the last 25 years.

Percentage of Obese Canadians

1985                6%

2011                18%

Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Institute in Ottawa, stated “A flood of cheap, attractively packaged empty calories has washed over the grocery shelves and oversized plates of the nation in that time. I do not believe we’ve experienced an epidemic loss of willpower since 1980… I think the world around us has changed.”

Obesity Related Health Conditions

General health issues associated with obesity can include sleep apnea, gout, and osteoarthritis.  The top 5 obesity-related health conditions are:

• Heart disease and stroke
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Cancer
• Gallbladder disease and gallstones

Canadians Getting More Health Conscious

The Canadian government has begun to tackle the obesity problem by requiring schools to offer healthier food choices in school cafeterias, and limiting the supply of junk foods. Food labels and calorie counts are being made available in stores and in restaurants everywhere in Canada. Although we won’t see the effects from these efforts for a number of years, it is nevertheless a good start toward better nutrition.  In the meantime, more and more people suffering from health conditions due to obesity are requiring medical treatments, putting the annual costs for health care between $4.6 and $7.1 billion.

When the public health care system is overwhelmed you're looking at longer wait times in hospitals and for certain medical treatments as well. Private health insurance can make a difference and offer you more options in terms of the type of health care you receive. When it comes down to it....it pays to have options!

Obesity Rising

The 2013 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) has shed light on the growing concern of obesity in young people in this country. One in five youths, aged between 12 and 17, were determined to be overweight or obese. This survey also indicated the following: 

• 55.2% of youths over the age of 12, which would amount to 16.1 million children in Canada, were moderately active during their down-time, which is an important increase from 53.9% in the last year.
• 41.9% of men and 27.7% of women were reported to be overweight or obese, which reflects about the same numbers as the previous year.
• 5.3 million (17.7%) of Canadians over the age of 12 were reported to have high blood pressure, a significant rise in numbers since the rate was 16.9% in 2009.  Those classified as obese were twice as likely to have high blood pressure as those who were not.

Besides your weight, lifestyle choices such as what you eat, whether you are a smoker or non-smoker, the amount of physical activity you practice, and your daily stress levels play a part in the regulation of your blood pressure.

The truth is we don’t know what health issues await us so it’s important to be pro-active by making good choices with regard to lifestyle, and to be prepared by having adequate health insurance coverage.