Obesity: The Number One Health Issue

It’s that time of year when everyone has made a promise to eat clean and healthy for the next 365 days. It’s now mid-January, about 15 days into your resolution and are you still on track? I know I have slipped off and hauled my butt back on a couple of times.  Don’t fall off that slow moving wagon – yes, it’s a slog, the road is bumpy, the results are slow and it takes monumental effort to hang on – but your body and mind will thank you.


A recent survey by CBC, released earlier this month found that the number one health issue affecting Canadians is obesity. The CBC launched a website to help Canadians become healthier.  That is right, a media site to help you achieve your health goals.  That seem strange to me.  That is odd that media would concentrate on the health of its clients.  They are not health care workers - they are reporters.  I have nothing against reporters, they are wonderful people, but omg, we are that fat that we have to have media talking non-stop about why we should lose weight.

Look around you and you don’t need a survey to tell you that we, as a nation, are getting heavier and heavier. What’s scarier than these findings however, it that that majority of Canadians believe they are living a healthy lifestyle and believe their generation is healthier than the previous one! An odd statement given that most agree that our youth today will be the first generation likely to die before their parents due to complications from being overweight. Canadian health is in a crisis…so hang onto that wagon…don’t fall off and resolve to keep living clean and healthy.
So what are you doing to stay on track? Have you built in some accountability to your exercise routine – like working out with a buddy? I have scheduled my workouts and am actually sticking to them (so far). And what about your fridge? Are you buying lots of fruits and veggies? Not only will all those vitamins and fibre help your waistline, they will chase away the winter blues. When I get get home from grocery shopping I always cut up my veggies so they are ready to munch on. Having everything cut up makes short work of getting in those extra servings of veggies. And it sure beats grabbing for those carbs which will do your waistline not an inch of good.