Canadian Obesity Rates Rising Slowly Among Developed Countries

October 01, 2010

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Report: Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit Not Fat

News Release: September 23, 2010

This new OECD report examines the current obesity epidemic, giving new comparative data, trends and projections across OECD countries and outlining causes and costs. It also notes ways in which the private sector and governments encouraged obesity and makes recommendations for ways they can contribute to combating it.

Since the 1980s, obesity has spread at an alarming rate. Changes in food supply and eating habits, combined with a dramatic fall in physical activity, have made obesity a global epidemic. Across OECD countries, one in 2 adults is currently overweight and 1 in 6 is obese. The rate of overweight people is projected to increase by a further 1% per year for the next 10 years in some countries.

Obesity rates are high in Canada, relative to most OECD countries, but they have not increased substantially in the last 15 years. Two out of 3 men are overweight and 1 in 4 people are obese in Canada, but the rate of increase has been one of the slowest in the OECD. The proportion of people overweight is projected by the OECD to rise a further 5% during the next 10 years.

For full media release, please see: OECD says governments must fight fat

For full report, please see Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat

For Canadian Data, please see: Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat - Canada Key Facts