Which Is the Heaviest Health Region in Canada
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Rating Canada’s Regional Health Which health regions have the highest proportion of overweight and obese residents? The World Health Organization has estimated that every provinces. Similar regional generalizations cannot be made year 2.6 million people die as a result of being overweight for youth. or obese.1 Overweight and obesity are linked to It is worth noting that high density population areas located cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. The in these southern areas are much smaller health regions, in determinants of obesity include not only individual level terms of geographic area. Thus, while the map shows huge behavioural determinants of diet and physical activity, but land areas with a high proportion of overweight and obese also environmental and social determinants.2 For example, adults, the majority of Canada is sparsely populated. availability of safe low cost places to be physically active and low cost, nutritious food may be limited for people with When examined by rankings, the highest and lowest ranked low socio-economic status, and regardless of socio- regions are fairly consistent when the individual rankings economic status, environments increasingly discourage for adults and youth overweight and obesity are examined. physical activity and promote excessive food intake. These findings indicate that social, physical and policy environments likely have a similar impact on youth and Nationally, 50% of Canadian adults and 24% of youth are adults alike. However, there are some exceptions, in that considered overweight or obese. Canada’s health regions some regions’ combined rankings do not reflect the ranks are ranked based on the proportion of overweight and obese assigned to adults or youth separately. Overweight and adults and youth. The top ten ranked health regions in obesity rates of youth in the Interlake Health Region in Canada include Health Regions in northern Ontario, Manitoba rank 38th while the adult ranking is 1st. Large northern Manitoba, and New Brunswick, Integrated Health discrepancies between adult and youth rankings can also be Authorities in Newfoundland, and several Saskatchewan seen in Nova Scotia’s Zones 1 and 6, Saskatchewan’s Health Authorities. In these regions, approximately two Prince Albert Parkland and Mamawetan, Keewatin, and thirds of the adult population and two fifths to one half of Athabasca, British Columbia’s East Kootenay and youth are overweight or obese. The lowest ranking health Vancouver, Quebec’s Estrie, Mauricie and Centre-du- regions include the cities of Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, and Québec, and Ontario’s City of Toronto Regions. Vancouver, along with Quebec’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Chaudière-Appalaches regions, and British Columbia’s What can local governments do? North Vancouver Island Region. In these regions, two-fifths A comprehensive, population based approach should: to one half of the adult population is overweight or obese, address both dietary habits and physical activity patterns; and less than one quarter of youth fall into this category. address both societal and individual level factors; Regions in profile include both policies and programs; and, build links between sectors that may otherwise be viewed Where does your health region rank? The ranked list of all as independent.3 the Canadian health regions, along with the percentage of Population interventions to increase physical activity should the population that meets each of the criteria, is provided in include informational, behavioural and environmental Table 1. Maps display data for adults and youth graphically. approaches.3 Local governments could consider physical Within provinces, significant differences exist. In general, activity interventions such as: the proportion of overweight and obese adults in the promoting and encouraging physical activity through northern regions of each province is higher than in the informational campaigns and ‘point-of-decision’ southern regions. However, the proportion in the Territories prompts; and Nunavut is similar to the southern regions of the behavioural and social approaches, such as encouraging and facilitating school based physical education, social support and individually-adapted health behaviour compiled to create these rankings. Regions with small change; and populations were combined with nearby regions in the taking environment and policy approaches, such as public use data. Data were normalized to the overall creating or increasing access to facilities and programs Canadian population for age and sex. Health regions were and creating neighbourhood environments that are then ranked from those with the largest proportion of conducive to walking, cycling and play. overweight and obese residents to the smallest. The region Promotion of healthy eating can be undertaken through: with the largest proportion was given the score of 1, while educational approaches, and, the one with the smallest was given the highest score. policy approaches such as labelling healthy choices in Where the proportion was the same, an identical ranking vending machines across the community, and particularly was assigned. This was done separately for adults and in school and workplace cafeterias, zoning for grocery youth. The two ranks were then added together and the stores in economically disadvantaged or remote areas and health region with the lowest arithmetic score was ranked as through establishing community garden programs or food the Canadian health region with the greatest proportion of cooperatives. overweight and obese residents. 1 World Health Organization. Preventing chronic disease: a vital investment. Methodology Geneva: World Health Organization. 2005. Body mass Index (BMI) is calculated by taking the ratio of 2 Canadian Institute for Health Information. Overweight and Obesity in Canada: A weight and height. Thresholds are set for defining population health perspective. 2004. Available at: http://www.cdpac.ca/media.php?mid=234 overweight and obesity: adults with a BMI of greater than 3 Heart and Stroke Foundation. A State of the Evidence Review of Interventions 25 exceed this threshold; age and sex specific thresholds are Related to Obesity. 2005. Available at www.heartandstroke.ca set for children and youth. BMI data from Statistics Canada’s 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey were Proportion of Overweight and Obese Proportion of Overweight and Obese Adults by Health Region Youth by Health Region Canadian Average Canadian Average for Youth for Adults No data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Data for this bulletin are based on Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey Public Use Microdata Files, which contains anonymized data. All computations on these microdata were prepared by the authors and the responsibility for the use and interpretation of these data is entirely that of the authors. Map templates are courtesy of Statistics Canada and available at http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-402-XIE/82-402- XIE2006001.htm Cragg, S and Craig, CL. (2009) Rating Canada’s Regional Health: Which health region has the highest proportion of overweight and obese residents? Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario. Proportion of adults who are overweight or Proportion of youth who are overweight or Overall obese obese Table 1: Overweight and Obesity by Health 95% Confidence Significantly 95% Confidence Significantly Region in Canada Interval higher or lower Interval higher or lower %%Rank Rank Score Rank (p<0.05) than (p<0.05) than Lower Upper Canada Lower Upper Canada Canada 50.7% 50.2% 51.1% 23.7% 21.7% 25.8% Health Region Northwestern Health Unit, ON 63.0% 57.6% 68.1% Higher 9 50.7% 27.6% 73.6% Higher 1 10 1 Western & Labrador-Grenfell Regional Integrated Health 66.3% 62.6% 69.9% Higher 2 41.8% 24.9% 60.9% Same 9 11 2 Authority, NL Region 2, NB 65.1% 60.9% 69.2% Higher 6 44.1% 26.3% 63.6% Higher 6 12 3 Sunrise & Kelsey Trail Regional Health Authorities, SK 65.4% 60.8% 69.8% Higher 5 44.0% 21.0% 69.8% Same 7 12 3 Heartland & Prairie North Regional Health Authorities, SK 62.8% 58.5% 66.9% Higher 10 47.6% 29.4% 66.4% Higher 3 13 4 Prince and Kings Counties, PEI 62.1% 57.8% 66.2% Higher 12 49.6% 30.1% 69.1% Higher 2 14 5 Central Regional Integrated Health Authority, NL 66.3% 61.4% 70.8% Higher 2 38.3% 18.9% 62.4% Same 13 15 6 Region 6 & 7, NB 65.9% 62.1% 69.5% Higher 3 34.1% 19.7% 52.2% Same 19 22 7 Porcupine Health Unit, ON 61.7% 56.6% 66.5% Higher 14 40.4% 17.1% 69.0% Same 11 25 8 North Bay, Parry Sound & Timiskaming Health Units, ON 59.7% 55.8% 63.5% Higher 19 40.9% 22.8% 61.9% Same 10 29 9 Parkland, Norman & Burntwood/Churchill Regional Health 60.8% 56.6% 64.9% Higher 17 38.1% 15.9% 66.8% Same 14 31 10 Authorities, MB Zone 3 (DHA 4&5), NS 61.4% 56.4% 66.2% Higher 16 35.1% 17.4% 58.0% Same 17 33 11 Thompson/Cariboo Health Service Delivery Area, BC 57.3% 52.5% 61.9% Higher 31 46.3% 21.4% 73.3% Same 4 35 12 Queens County, PEI 58.7% 53.6% 63.5% Higher 24 38.6% 22.1% 58.2% Same 12 36 13 Region 3, NB 59.6% 55.3% 63.7% Higher 20 35.9% 15.4% 63.3% Same 16 36 13 Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority, NL 60.6% 57.4% 63.7% Higher 19 34.8% 21.4% 51.2% Same 18 37 14 Interlake Regional Health Authority, MB 69.3% 63.4% 74.7% Higher 1 21.2% 4.7% 59.4% Same 38 39 15 Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, ON 59.2% 55.5% 62.7% Higher 22 33.9% 17.4% 55.6% Same 20 42 16 District of Algoma Health Unit, ON 56.5% 51.6% 61.2% Higher 36 43.6% 26.0% 63.0% Higher 8 44 17 Saskatoon Regional Health Authority,