Many Canadians are overweight but only a third will admit it
Posted August 13, 2012 7:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Is the weight listed on your driver’s license really accurate?
A new study by the Canadian Medical Association suggests only a third of Canadians consider themselves as overweight, while 60 per cent consider themselves ‘average.’ In reality, statistics show 60 per cent of Canadians are actually overweight.
The numbers in this poll show that our view of what of normal is changing and Chris agrees. He tells News1130 that our bodies are catching up to our larger friends in the United States, although many of us won’t admit it.
He says it’s time for Canadians to get healthy. “Reality is kicking in. I think a lot of us are actually saying that we go to the gym a lot, but I think we live more in excess now, so we have try and balance that out.”
Jerome considers his weight as normal. He says he works out five times a week to keep it that way, but he knows others who think they are like him but in reality, they could afford to lose a few pounds.
“[They’re] just being overly optimistic about themselves sometimes. [They know] they’re overweight, and they know that they need to be a little more active,” he notes.
The survey also showed that people’s health has been impacted by the economic downturn. Twenty-five per cent admit they spend less time, money and energy on their health and they’re blaming it on the economy.
Growing disparity between the health of low and higher income Canadians
The report from the CMA also indicates a growing disparity between the health of low and higher income Canadians.
Ipsos Reid conducted a survey asking people questions about their health.
Sixty-eight per cent of respondents with salaries of $60,000 or more rated their health as excellent or very good. Just 39 per cent of people who earn less than $30,000 a year said the same.
That’s a gap of 29 percentage points.
Three years ago, when a survey asked people the same question, that gap was just 17 percentage points.
