Terrible Trends

Childhood obesity in Canada is at epidemic levels. We are 3rd worst in the world after the USA and UK. The graph below shows the terror of the situation but only tells part of the story. Notice that Canadian boys have the greatest increase in obesity in the world! This was not always true.

The graph shows that in 1975 almost the same percentage of our boys were obese (3%) as boys in other countries(1%).

Today, over 14% of Canadian boys are obese compared with 8% globally. What happened in Canada, where 70% of the vegetables and fruits eaten in supermarkets and health food stores are imported from California?

Childhood obesity is a personal health crisis but also a huge cost to society. In Canada, health care spending on sick people is Hundreds of Billions a year. Much of this is for drugs from USA companies.

How is this a good investment in our common future? What can be done about this terrible trend?

Eating 6-a-day as detailed elsewhere on this web site, is a great place to start.
Recent surveys in Canada show only 1 in 3 Canadian youth get their 5-a-day conventional vegetables and fruits. Look at the results of these poor diets – epidemic levels of obesity. Let us try a different approach.

Even though the store shelves are full of food in Canada, it is mostly imported and of low nutrient density. Low nutrient density food tastes like crap and people eat junk food instead, which tastes better.

Who benefits in this scenario ? Not people and not society, that is for sure.

Canadians are confused about how to eat well. There is too much information and experts say different things. Grabbing empty calories to eat in a hurry is so easy. What can people do?

Focus on eating 6 – a – day organic local vegetables (4) and fruits(2). All experts agree on this. Why are we not doing this? The key is having enough supply.

Increasing the supply of organic local vegetables and fruits is the best way to end the terrible trend of childhood obesity in Canada. That is what all the public health research shows.

Why does increasing the supply of vegetables work? It works because availability increases. People eat more if more is available. It’s that simple.