Health News: Hamilton, fatter than most

The skinny on Hamilton: We're fatter than most AP Photo It's estimated that 74.3 per cent of adults in the Hamilton ... AP PhotoIt's estimated that 74.3 per cent of adults in the Hamilton area are either overweight or obese. That's three out of four people aged 18 and over.

March 29, 2010 Andrew Dreschel
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 29, 2010)

The numbers are staggering.

It's estimated that 74.3 per cent of adults in the Hamilton area are either overweight or obese.

That's three out of four people aged 18 and over.

We crush Toronto (50.9 per cent overweight or obese), flatten Montreal (51.6), squash Calgary (53.8), and easily roll over both the national (59.1) and Ontario (58.6) levels.

The figures come from a Statistics Canada study of 29 census metropolitan areas (CMA). Hamilton's CMA includes Burlington and Grimsby.

The news is not all belly-bearing bad.

For example, it's estimated that 24.5 per cent of kids between ages two and 17 in Hamilton are overweight or obese, slightly below the national level of 26 per cent.

And Statistics Canada says some of the numbers should be interpreted with caution.

Still, when Hamilton's chart-topping ranking for adults is combined with other studies, it's clear this city has an elephant, not a monkey on its back.

Why are Hamiltonians so tubby and blubbery?

"We're asking ourselves the same question as well," says Dr. Nihn Tran, one of Hamilton's associate medical officers of health. "It's a complex issue."

Tran says nothing really stands out to explain why the rates are so much higher than in other places.

But as with other communities battling the bulge, Hamilton's public health unit is both looking for answers and realizing that just telling people to eat healthier and be more active is not working.

Tran says it's well known Hamilton has a high poverty rate and that low income is linked to weight problems.

"We know if you can't get afford healthy nutritious meals, people tend to buy cheaper, more calorie-dense meals that increase obesity."

And the easy availability of food and snacks probably plays a part.

"The more easily accessible something is, the more likely you are to get it."

But Tran says researchers are still fine-tuning research methods that hopefully will determine to what extent other factors play a role.

For example, the same 2006 StatsCan report noted that U.S. data has found associations between obesity and urban sprawl, suggesting that an increased dependency on cars decreases opportunities and motivation to walk.

According to Tran, public health is starting to shift its strategy from relying on educating people to considering those kind of environmental factors.

That includes working with the municipality and schools to address issues such as increasing walkability, bike trails, active transportation and food policies.

It also includes pitching the city's two biggest initiatives -- participation in the Pan Am Games and building a light rail system.

Tran says the games will create more physical activity facilities while light rail will get people out of their cars, walking to and from transit connections.

Tran diplomatically declines to point the finger at good ol' greasy gluttony to explain the growing spare tire syndrome.

But he says bigger food portions and serving sizes, advertising and marketing all play a part in people making unhealthy choices.

Interestingly, recent immigrants are generally less likely to be fat than people born in Canada. At least at first.

"Then, at some point, they adopt our culture and move more to obesity and overweight."

StatsCan calculates overweight and obesity body mass index, a measure of weight adjusted for height.

For example, a person whose height is 1.78 metres (5-foot-10) would be considered in the overweight category if they weighed 79.1 to 94.8 kg. (174-208 lb.).They would be obese if they weighed 94.9 kg. and over (209 lb.).

Being overweight is associated with increased health risks. Obesity puts a person at high risk for developing health problems.

Tran says both categories can have a huge impact on a person's health -- diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease.

And then there's the other ripple effect -- more fat people means more stress on our already stretched health care system.