New study indicates Canada’s obesity rate has doubled since the 1970s

Source: Chronicle Voice

Every day, the media, as well as public health officials, talk about the significance of physical activity and exercise to prevent chronic diseases. So if the information is out there, why have obesity rates grown so much over the last few decades? Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Canadian Bariatric Institute and an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa , believes that this is the wrong question to ask. Dr. Freedhoff explains that it demonstrates a poor construct in our attempt to understand the matter to propose that personal accountability can solely drive change. The Life Expectancy Calculator was created by Dr. Doug Manuel’s research team at the Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. It is based on public health information from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey, anonymously linked to individual health records.