Obesity in Canada
>> Monday, January 3, 2011
There was interesting radio program on CBC today. The show was on obesity and has some great info.
In Canada there is a 3-5 year wait for any type of weight loss operation (gastric bypass, gastric sleeve--they remove 85% of your stomach, lap band etc...). At this moment over one million Canadians would qualify for any of these types of surgeries. Imagine you are 19 and morbidly obese you won't have anything done until your at least 21.
Canada is also lowering the required amount of physical activity required on a daily basis (now it is 60 mins a day for adults and 90 kind a day for children). They say that no one is following the requirements, so even if they lower the required number of minutes people will get healthier. This is sad that we are so large that we do not need 60 minutes a day to stay healthy.
There was also an interview with a Med School student who lost 90 pounds because he felt like a hypocrite being a doctor in training and standing 6 foot and 285 pounds with a 46 inch waist. His eyes were opened when he was doing rotations and saw that being obese effected every aspect in the hospital (patients whose necks were so fat that they could not breath). His id picture was a constant conversation piece with patients because as he lost weight his face looked so different from his real face.
Village On A Diet is a new 10 part Canadian mini series, where a group of health care professionals take one of the most obese Canadian towns and tries to slim them down.
9 comments:
I've heard about the weight list in Canada for weight loss surgery. In the US, if you have insurance that covers it, the process moves more quickly -- or if you have the money, and can pay cash, it can happen even faster.
It is sad that so many people (adults and children alike) are overweight or obese. I am doing what I am doing to set a good example for my daughter, but also to be a more healthier person.
hmmm...this is very interesting indeed.
I didn't know that Canada had such an obesity problem. Thanks for the info.
I saw a commercial for that show and wanted to watch it. Thanks for reminding me. There are two other shows I watch that are Canadian as well. One is called 'Diet Tribe' and I think the other one is 'how I lost 100 lbs'. Hopefully these shows and people that are conscious of their need to be healthy can motivate others and start to change the obesity rate!
Very interesting. I don't know if the US has a weight period but I think the Canadians has it right. I'm considered "morbidly obese" and I refuse to have a sergery to fix what I need to first fix in my head. I'm doing something about that now, thank God.
I'm not an expert in lap bands or anything to do with them but I have always felt that it's now becoming an easy option for people to lose weight. Soon it will become the first thing people think of when deciding to lose weight instead of the last resort.
I'm not sure how it works in Canada but if there is now a 3-5 year wait to get it, maybe the government should offer more schemes to try and get those on the waiting list to lose the weight naturally by offering cheaper gym memberships or a weight loss programme that people can join to help start their weight loss journey.
I have very personal thoughts and opinions about weight loss surgeries, both my father and brother have had gastric bypass done. I chose to lose the 100+ pounds I've lost through good old diet and exercise. No, it didn't fall off in six months like my brother's did...but I didn't risk my life to lose it either. The 9 extra months it took me to lose was well worth the time and effort.
I'm not going to say I believe or disbelieve in bariatric surgeries, but I do agree with having a waiting period. The very thought of dying while you are waiting should be enough for folks to start making changes.
This is a very interesting post thanks for sharing.I think there should be a waiting period for getting the bypass, I think persons should do some counselling and try to lose some weight on their own first before they have the surgery but I guess in the end everyone should make their own decisions.
I'm still plugging along and losing weight. My mom was not familiar with so called Gastric Bypass Vitamin so I gave a brief overview for them. I was comfortable moving forward because my primary and cardio Dr's supported the decision.
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