What’s the problem?
Overweight and obesity is one the most significant public-health issues in Canada and is driven by a complex interplay of factors.
o The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Canada, and in turn, its associated health and economic burden, is significant and growing. Obesity rates over the last three decades have roughly doubled, resulting in approximately one in four Canadian adults and 8.6% of children and youth being obese. This combined with the myriad co-morbidities associated with overweight and obesity place strain on
already over-stretched health systems.
o Promoting healthy weights at a population level is challenging due to the need to address a broad array of inter-related biological, behavioural, community and societal and environmental factors that contribute to overweight and obesity.
o Current approaches to promoting healthy weights are not integrated and don’t focus on the underlying determinants of overweight and obesity