The unmistakable smells of bacon and sausage, along with various delectable pastries, were an ironic backdrop to a speech about health concerns delivered by federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose March 21 at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.
The breakfast speech, hosted by the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, addressed the government's continuing action on various health concerns.
Ambrose said amongst those concerns are the needs of an aging population, the impact of chronic conditions on health care and whether new technologies are actually increasing costs but not quality of care. But she added inactivity and obesity rates remain key concerns.
"The burden of illness on Canadian families that results from being inactive, this is one of the most challenging issues that face our health-care system," said Ambrose. "The rates of inactivity in Canada continue to be quite high."
Ambrose said recent data shows only five per cent of children and youth are physically active enough to meet Canadian guidelines.
"A lot of parents are shocked to hear that because their kids, they think, are fairly active," she said, adding that only 13 per cent of adult women and 17 per cent of adult men currently meet physical activity guidelines. "Because inactivity is a risk factor for obesity and chronic disease, these data point to what is a very disturbing reality."
Currently one in every three Canadian children and youth are overweight or obese, said Ambrose.
"This represents a more than doubling of obesity among Canadian children and youth in the past 25 years," she said. "For Canadian adults, two thirds of adult men and over half of adult women are overweight or obese now." She said obesity rates are higher among aboriginal people.
Ambrose said if left unchecked, the impacts of obesity would continue to grow with irreversible consequences. "This is a dire situation that we're facing in the health-care system." Reducing obesity is everyone's problem and is a complex issue, she said.
She said all segments of society must work together to deal with obesity.
John Weston, MP for West Vancouver Sea-to-Sky Country, reinforced Ambrose's message about the need for collaboration to conquer health issues, as well as the need for "Canadians to take the lead.
"It's not government that can do these things, government can orchestrate and encourage and espouse ideals," said Weston. "But ultimately it's up to us as Canadians to do these things."
