Comparing Obesity In U.S. And Canada

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- the first to compare American obesity data with another country -- finds (perhaps unsurprisingly) that American adults have a higher rate of obesity than their Canadian counterparts.

And the gap is quite disparate. According to obesity data from 2007 to 2009, an estimated 34 percent of Americans are obese compared to 24 percent of Canadians -- a 10 percent difference that further exposes the severity of America's struggle with obesity.

The study considered racial demographics and gender, and in each instance Americans were bigger. The percentage of obese American men was 8 percent higher than that of Canada (32.6 percent to 24.3 percent), and the obesity gap in women was even higher (36.2 percent to 23.9 percent).

This is not necessarily good news for Canada; the country has seen an increase in obesity since the late 1980's. Interestingly, between 2007 and 2009 obesity among young and middle-aged Canadian women closely mirrored that studied in U.S. women 20 years earlier.

By charting Body Mass Index (BMI) at different heights, the CDC outlined three classes of obesity:

Class 1: BMI of 30.0-34.9 kg/m2
Class 2: BMI of 35.0-39.9 kg/m2
Class 3: BMI of 40.0 kg/m2 and higher

For more information, view the full CDC report.

Comments

[Atchka]

03:54 PM on 03/15/2011

Yes, let's compare the US and Canada... Canada with its single-payer healthcare system that gives access to all of her citizens versus the US, which is catch as catch can. Or the fact that Canada has a poverty rate of 9.4% (and the CIA says that may be an overestimate due to how they count poverty) versus the US with a poverty rate of 12%.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html

And, most importantly, Canada is actually talking about the social determinants of health, while the United States insists on the bootstrap mentality for obesity as well (if you wanted to be thin, you could be thin!). These are just a handful of the differences that aren't taken into account.

Peace,
Shannon

[Tom Hendricks]

12:02 PM on 03/12/2011

New ideas suggest that breast feeding may be the key to both overweight and underweight problems. The idea is that the lack of at least one year of breast feeding for infants is causing both overweight and underweight problems across the world.

Infants develop a food in pattern with breast feeding, then a waste out pattern with weaning - probably in the ENS, Enteric Nervous System, or digestion brain, that subconsciously programs us for our lives.

If the child is not breast fed - the infant will be 'hungry' from then on. He will feel like he has to take in excess food just to get the necessary nurturing he was denied as an infant. He will move toward food and become overweight. The overriding emotion is Anger. Oral Personality

This should be easy to test. Those with weight problems should be infants that were NOT breast fed for one year.

"Before 1900, most mothers breastfed their infants. Breastfeeding rates declined sharply worldwide after 1920, when evaporated cow's milk and infant formula became widely available. " - faqs.org

[Adam616]

08:48 PM on 03/08/2011

Having to shovel oneself out the front door 20 times a year may have something to do with it.

[FTracy3]

05:28 PM on 03/08/2011

What if you're an American who got fat eating Canadian bacon? or French fries from Quebec?

[lezahgg]

02:30 PM on 03/08/2011

I think there are a lot of reasons for the increase in obesity and I don't think it's only due to people eating supersized portions and not getting exercise, although that is a reason. I think we have hormones, fructose, etc. that contribute to weight gain--I see an incredible amount of obese toddlers these days (I live near a zoo). I think food has become so expensive that it is cheaper to eat fast food. I think there are more people working nontraditional hours which makes exercise and diet regimes harder to follow. I think people work longer hours and have longer commutes and don't walk as much as they used to. Thirty to sixty minues on a machine does not always cut it. When people worked 8 to 5, had shorter commutes, walked and took buses, and it didn't cost a fortune to make a salad, people were thinner and they didn't have to join health clubs to stay that way!

[avery t]

12:13 AM on 03/08/2011

we should tax obese people. and we americans should tax canadians (can we do that?). but not vancouver, because vancouver produces so many cute girls. what's up with vancouver and hotties? that's what i really wanted to ask.

[ljkcan]

12:03 AM on 03/04/2011

Oh we have overweight people and we have plenty of junk fast foods the exact same as the US.
I did notice one difference in Florida perhaps it has changed.

When you enter a grocery store all you see is the junk and prepared foods. In Canada enter a grocery store and you see the fruits and vegtables severl isles till you hit the junk.

The economy plays a role it costs less to eat crap than it does to eat fresh and home cooked meals.

[Tabuism]

08:12 PM on 03/02/2011

Hamburger Health ! This is a laugh, you will enjoy ! Video(2.20min)

Tasty and done in great taste...
http://vegansaurus.com/post/3565276655/this-is-your-brain-on-meat-i-saw-this-video

[Tabuism]

07:53 PM on 03/02/2011

The U.S. invented Super Size with lots of chimicals, hormones and GMO's, yum yum.

Please sir, can I have more ! lol

[HealthHabits]

07:26 PM on 03/02/2011

Why do you Americans have to be #1 at everything???
For the past 20 years, us Canucks have been living on a diet of seal blubber, donuts, double doubles...all covered in poutine...in an attempt to become the fattest country on Earth.
But no...you guys can't stand being #2.

sheesh

http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/09/10/ontario-fat/

[pc51]

11:18 PM on 03/02/2011

Haha, LOL!

[ObliqueReference]

10:00 AM on 03/03/2011

There was a story on the huffpo a month ago ranking the fattest nations in the world- Mexico was #1, USA #2

[JuanitoN]

08:00 PM on 03/03/2011

Good point - México, Perú, Venezuela - many Latin America countries have so very dangerous streets that many women and men just don't go out at all to walk. The Latin rich and upper middle classes will join health clubs and they'll be "in the gym" for couple hours a day if they're lucky. As well, there is snacking all over the place with totally unhealthy sugary treats, dulces, chicharones, tortas, chifles, salchipapas, etc

[kolson780]

04:02 PM on 03/02/2011

BMI is just 1 measurement in the total picture of what it means to be obese. Studies need to use other tools such as waist circumference and skin-fold measurements to fully determine how much fat people have and where it is distributed.
BMI can grossly over/underestimate how "fat" a person is; since it only looks at height and weight ratios....some examples... A short, muscular person who weighs more could be considered obese, whereas a tall, soft person could be considered healthy....A lady with a larger lower body could be considered obese, whereas a taller man with a large abdomen could be considered healthy.

The bottom line is regardless of what the experts say, people need to move more and eat less.....

[onionboy]

05:42 PM on 03/02/2011

Yes. BMI was never meant to be for individuals. It was meant to apply to populations studies. It does that well because, as you say, there are always going to be some people whose weight is a leaner and others whose weight is a little softer.

I personally agree with you on the body-fat composition issue. The problem is that there's not a lot of large studies on body-fat and health benefit. The biggest problem is that there isn't even an agreement on the method to use if one did a large study. But I tend to base my personal health on my composition rather than on my total weight.

[BlackRabbit]

05:55 PM on 03/02/2011

Particularly since every gym is full of free weights and weight machines.

It's not difficult for even an office worker to pack on extra muscle, and plenty take the opportunity.

[DrSnuggles]

02:31 PM on 03/02/2011

Obesity is a growing problem in this country, no doubt; and it's hitting this country harder than most, no doubt. But can we stop using BMI as a measure? Granted, it's hard to argue that someone with a BMI of 30+ is not going to be obese (there just aren't that many bodybuilders or people with freakish builds running around) but around the overweight, normal, underweight range it's just really not indicative of anything but a weight/height ratio.

[Kelly Jade]

02:47 PM on 03/02/2011

I know! I'm 5 ft tall but I am very curvy (like have hips and bust not curvy as a polite way to say overweight) and my BMI is 24.4! Most girls my height seem to be zero and I'm a size 4--not exactly anywhere near overweight by the looks of it

[Fred Butters]

04:00 PM on 03/02/2011

24.4 is considered normal weight though.

[spitfiredd]

03:10 PM on 03/02/2011

Oh the whole redefine overweight so I don't have to deal with the sad reality that I'm fat or take any personal responsibility for my actions argument.

[DrSnuggles]

04:01 PM on 03/02/2011

So polite. Well somewhere in that ridiculous assumption filled comment is actually a good point - that I said that BMI is a terrible indicator of weight issues (truth) without giving a alternate solution. I would say that body fat percentage would be a much better indicator of weight health. Not only would it remove the the bias regarding people with more muscle mass or shorter leg to torso ratio or women with large bust size etc. etc. it would also inform those people who while the scale says they are skinny are actually only there because of a severe lack of muscle tone.

[fanofariana]

05:58 PM on 03/02/2011

I was listening a month ago to NPR and there was a doctor commenting on how Medicare is being bankrupt due to obesity and consequential high bloody pressure.