Canadians among the world’s fattest people

A major new study concludes that only five other countries in the developed world have more instances of obesity.

Sixty per cent of adult Canadians are overweight and nearly a quarter are obese, according to a new study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Only the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, the U.K., and Australia have worse obesity rates. Japan boasts the best rates by far. Only three per cent of Japanese people are obese. The number of overweight Canadians is expected to rise by five per cent in the next ten years, a much slower rate of increase than our American neighbours, three quarters of whom will be overweight by 2020. The report said between 25,000 and 40,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually by better education, industry regulation, and media campaigns.