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= **The Childhood Obesity Epidemic in Canada** =

In March of 2007 almost every major Canadian news station was covering a recent report that came from the Commons Health Committee of Canada. The report, entitled Healthy Weight for Healthy Kids, said that obese children in Canada are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. This was the first generation in which this has occurred in history (Merrifield, 2007). It is no secret that Canada is facing a major issue when it comes to the topic of childhood obesity. Canada has one of the highest rates for childhood obesity among the developed world. Recent data shows that approximately one in four, or 26%, of young Canadians aged 2 to 17 years are overweight or obese (Merrifield, 2007). Additionally, it is not only the high number of overweight children in Canada, but this figure’s alarming rate of increase. In the past 30 years the percentage of overweight children in Canada has spiked drastically by rising over 10% (Merrifield, 2007). This leaves concerned Canadians with a few questions. Why is this epidemic occurring in the first place? Why is the Canadian child obesity rate on the rise? Who is mostly to blame for the problem? What affects can come about as a result of childhood obesity? And finally what can be done to assist in solving this alarming epidemic?

//Causes// The first step in looking into and dissecting this issue of childhood obesity in Canada would be to determine the causes of the problem. There are two main contributing factors which need to be considered primarily and most significantly and they are the nutrition and diet habits among children and physical activity among children, or lack there of. There is one major differentiation when looking at childhood obesity in comparison to adult obesity and that has to do with the fact that children do not have the same freedom to make informed decisions as do adults. Children really do not have many choices or abilities when it comes to making decisions about food and exercise. This is an immensely significant point which will be further discussed later on. This goes to show that the causes of high rates of childhood obesity should entirely be dependant on caregivers of these children. First off, there is the most significant topic of the nutrition and diets of children. Canadian children today are simply ingesting too many calories. This is through increased portions, increased intake of fatty and processed foods as well as greater consumption of sugary drinks. (Merrifield, 2007). Mostly all processed foods, convenience foods and fast foods are known to be extremely high in fats, especially trans fats which are directly linked to be a major cause of weight gain (Richardson, 2006). So why is it that children are eating more and more of these types of foods especially within the last 30 years? It would be safe to say that children’s increase in convenience foods can be directly related to busy schedules within their family. Parents hectic work schedules leave very little time to prepare nutritious home-cooked meals for their families. It is clearly quicker and more efficient to order a pizza on their way home from work rather than coming home and beginning to cook a healthy dinner. Kids having to buy lunches would also be a contributor to poor nutritional habits. Busy, time-pressed, working parents may not have the time to pack a nutritious lunch for their child and often they end up giving their child money to purchase a lunch from a cafeteria or fast food restaurant in which healthy options are very limited. There is an almost as equally significant contributing factor of inadequate physical activity among young children. Fewer than half of Canadian children get enough daily exercise to obtain a health benefit, the Toronto Globe and Mail recently reported. Health advocates recommend that children receive at least 30 minutes of daily physical education instruction, but fewer than 500 of the 15,800 primary and secondary schools in Canada achieve this goal (// Anonymous, 2002 )////. There simply is not enough physical activity among Canada’s children and this is due to elementary schools not teaching it enough, and parents not enforcing it. // There is also a major factor that can be tied to both of these main causes to Canada’s high and increasing rate of childhood obesity and that factor is television. “Recent statistics show that children and youth watch up to 14 hours per week of television and spend an average of 6-7 hours per day viewing various media.” (LeBlanc, 2003). TV not only plays a role in decreasing a child’s time left for engaging in physical activity but it negatively affects their eating habits as well. Eating while watching television can be directly associated with weight gain along with other “sedentary activities” such as playing video games and computer games (LeBlanc, 2003). These activities are more prominent than ever among Canada's children, therefore contributing greatly to the spike in childhood obesity particularly within the last 30 years. In the report mentioned earlier by the Standing Committee on Health in Canada entitled Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids they list many more determinants which also contribute to high rates of childhood obesity. These determinants include the following: income, education, social environment, physical/geographical environment, culture, biological/genetic factors, services for health and gender (Merrifield, 2007). These are determinants which require a more in depth analysis and attention since it is important to acknowledge all causes of the problem when trying to decipher solutions for it.

//Affects// Once people are informed as to why this issue of childhood obesity is occurring initially, the next step is to inform them as to why this is a crisis and what negative affects arise from it. Claire LeBlanc, an author who wrote for the Canadian Journal for Public Health lists some of the many negative health affects that can occur as a result of children being overweight and they include the following: Chronic illnesses including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, respiratory disorders, gallbladder disease, orthopaedic problems and, not inconsequentially, psychological illness. (LeBlanc, 2003). Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are the most alarming and severe of the possible affects for children being overweight. (Ball and McCargar, 2003) In a recent study done by Kansas State University there has even been a link between obese children and asthma (Anonymous, 2008). Not only does being obese at such a young age have numerous negative affects on the overall health of the body physically, there is also a mental aspect as well. Obesity is associated with poor self-esteem and depression (LeBlanc, 2003). Lastly, perhaps the most notable affect of childhood obesity is the fact that 70% of obese children grow up to be obese adults (Merrifield, 2007). This demonstrates that these affects are long term and need to be solved immediately when the child is young before they continue on with the unhealthy lifestyle for years to come which will only lead to many more negative health affects.

//Solutions// Undoubtedly the most difficult element of childhood obesity epidemic is finding successful ways in which to solve this problem and prevent it in future generations. So whose responsibility is it to change the unhealthy habits of Canadian overweight children? The government? Their parents? Their teachers? Their schools? The mass media? The food companies? Advertisers? The answer is all of the above listed. As mentioned earlier it is not up to children to be held responsible in this crisis since they are not in control of their own health matters. It is solely up to their caregivers and organizations that influence them, such as television shows and ads to take responsibility for the health crisis a hand. It is imperative for every one of these institutions to play a vital role in changing the lives and health of these children. A major sector that can be focused on by the government would be increasing awareness about obesity and health since The Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids Report states that only 9% of parents would consider their children to be overweight in comparison to the actual number 26% (Merrifield, 2007). Classes that educate parents and all types of child caregivers about healthy lifestyles and healthy eating habits along with ways of enforcing them and teaching them to children are just one way that there can be an increase in health awareness. Once people are informed and aware of the situation, they can better assist in helping prevent the growth of the issue. Changing the unhealthy eating habits of children is perhaps the most essential step in stopping this child obesity epidemic. Children could be more informed about healthy eating habits in school. Improved nutrition for children also includes cutting out trans fats as touched on earlier. This means limiting fast foods, convenience foods and packaged foods. This can be implemented by parents and schools primarily but also by media outlets. There have been numerous studies done that agree that fast food ads are contributing to childhood obesity. One study done by National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States, found that banning fast food ads could cut childhood obesity by 18%. (CBC News, 2008) Improving a child’s diet and overall nutrition is an extremely significant sector in the battle against childhood obesity but increasing a child’s physical activity is also a large part of this battle. As stated previously, Canadian Health Advocates have recommended a child’s daily physical activity to be at least 30 minutes and the government and schools implementing and enforcing this recommendation would show a great improvement and significant change in the children’s health undoubtedly. Families can also do their part in promoting an active lifestyle with their children since, again, it is in the hands of caregivers to these children to make lifestyle changes early in the kids lives.

Below is a Video that refers to the aforementioned childhood obesity statistics in Canada.

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**Work Cited**

Anonymous. "Asthma; K-State Researcher Finds Correlation Between Childhood Obesity and Asthma." __MD Week__ (Dec 2008): 9.

Anonymous. "Childhood obesity in Canada." __Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance.__ Vol 73, Iss 8 (2002): pg 9.

"Fast-food ad ban could cut child obesity: U.S. study." __CBC News__ 20 Nov. 2008. .

LeBlanc, Claire MA. "Canadian Journal of Public Health." __The growing epidemic of child and youth obesity - another twist?__ Ottawa, vol.94 (2003): pg 329.

McCargar, Linda J., and Geoff D.C Ball. "Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week." __Childhood Obesity; Childhood obesity continues to increase in Canada__ Atlanta (Apr 2003): pg 4.

Merrifield, Robert, Susan Kadis, Christiane Gagnon, Dave Batters, Colleen Beaumier, Carolyn Bennett, Bonnie Brown, Patricia Davidson, Rick Dykstra, Steven Fletcher, Luc Malo, and Penny Priddy. __Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids__. Rep. Standing Committee on Health in the House of Commons, 2007.

"Obese children will die younger than their parents: report." __CBC News__ 27 Mar. 2007. . "Trans Fat Leads To Weight Gain Even On Same Total Calories, Animal Study Shows." __Medical News Today__. 15 June 2006. .