A study revealed that 32.7% of Canadians were obese in 2023, an increase of 8 percentage points since 2009. The pandemic caused a notable increase in obesity rates, with Laura Anderson stating that changes in eating behaviors and access to healthy foods during lockdowns contributed. The researchers analyzed self-reported BMI data from over 746,000 Canadians, identifying a doubling in the obesity rate increase during the pandemic from 0.5 to 1 percentage point yearly. Obesity raises risks for serious health issues like stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
The research found that 32.7 percent of Canadians were obese in 2023, marking an increase of about eight percentage points since 2009. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated this trend.
Obesity is a medical condition that increases the risk of serious health issues such as stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, affecting millions of Canadians.
Before COVID-19, Canada's obesity rate was rising by about 0.5 percentage points annually, but the pandemic caused that rate to double, reaching about one percentage point per year.
The study utilized self-reported body mass index data from 746,250 Canadians aged 18 and older, following the World Health Organization's definition of obesity.
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