Obesity ‘epidemic’ exaggerated: report
No meaning ful change in rates since 2008, says Fraser Institute
Canada’s obesity “epidemic” has been exaggerated and the health risks overstated for all but the heaviest weight classes, says a provocative new report.
Despite claims Canadians are growing fatter than ever, the ratio of overweight adult Canadians is virtually no higher than a decade ago, says the Fraser Institute, a right-leaning, Vancouverbased think-tank.
Experts in the field, however, say the report undermines the seriousness of Canada’s weight problem.
Statistics Canada data show obesity rates among men appear to have levelled out and “may be turning a corner”; for overweight and obese youths 12 to 18, rates were largely unchanged between 2005 and 2012, says the report. Women’s rates have risen steadily since 2003.
Overall, in 2012, 34.1 per cent of the population was estimated to be overweight, defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 to 30 — virtually the same proportion as in 2003. Conversely, the rate of obesity (a BMI of 30 or above) increased from 15 per cent in 2003 to 18 per cent in 2012, “though again there is no statistically significant difference between the rates in 2009 and 2012,” the report says.
“There is no epidemic,” said author Nadeem Esmail, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute. The true definition of an epidemic is the outbreak of a disease or sickness that spreads rapidly and exponentially, he said.
According to Statistics Canada, from 2003 to 2011, obesity among men rose from 16 per cent to 19.8 per cent and, among women, from 14.5 per cent to 16.8 per cent — a rate of growth that is “clearly not exponential,” Esmail said.
The health consequences of excess weight are also being exaggerated, he said. Studies suggest that the risks lie at the higher end of the scale, above a body mass index of 35, and that people classed as overweight ( with a BMI of between 25 and 30) may have a lower risk of premature death than the “normal” weight.
That makes the case weak for anti-obesity policies such as calorie counts on menus, tax hikes on sugary drinks and other policies that “vilify” certain foods, given that a “sizable portion” of the population “are neither overweight nor obese” according to their BMI, Esmail said.
“It’s a myth to say ... that only government interventions will save us from ourselves. We know that most of the costs of obesity are actually borne by the obese individual in terms of a shorter lifespan, fewer opportunities at work and increased rates of illness.
“The only consequence for Canadians is the increased burden on Canada’s tax-financed health-care system,” Esmail said.
Experts say the report ignores that diabetes is growing at alarming rates, with obesity one of the most important drivers.
“The more obese the person, the greater the risk,” said Dr. David Law, a professor of medicine and chair of diabetes and endocrine research group at the University of Calgary. “To trivialize the importance of addressing the issue of obesity is misguided.”