From Your Health Journal…..”The Calgary Herald had a interesting article written by Eva Ferguson about the obesity rates growing in Alberta, Canada. Sedentary work, fast food and social media continue to grip our lifestyles, adding to our waistlines and ill health as obesity rates across Canada reach alarming levels and continue to climb. Obesity rates in this province have risen by about five percentage points in the past decade, with between 24% and 29%, or nearly one-third, of all adult Albertans now obese. Being obese or overweight significantly increases the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Many Canadian health officials are very concerned about health care costs in the future due to obesity related illness. Please visit The Global News web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”

From the article…..

Sedentary work, fast food and social media continue to grip our lifestyles, say fitness experts, adding to our waistlines and ill health as obesity rates across Canada reach alarming levels and continue to climb.

Compared with the rest of the country, Alberta’s fitness falls somewhere in the middle, according to the University of British Columbia study published Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

But obesity rates in this province have risen by about five percentage points in the past decade, with between 24 and 29 per cent, or nearly one-third, of all adult Albertans now obese.

Nicole Slomp, a physiotherapist at Nose Creek Sport Physical and Massage Therapy, says she’s not surprised by the study’s conclusion that Canadians overall are getting fatter.

“We are not making time for fitness. We are a money-oriented society.”

Slomp, who says she deals with many clients facing lower back problems due to weight gain, says changing lifestyles are seeing more people sitting all day at work, not eating right and tied to social media to connect with friends.

“Instead of meeting up with people, and going Rollerblading … or doing something, people are just talking to each other through social media and not getting enough exercise.

“People have to reboot and reprioritize their goals.”

Being obese or overweight significantly increases the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, said the study’s lead author, Prof. Carolyn Gotay of UBC’s School of Population and Public Health.

“Our analysis shows that more Canadians are obese than ever before — on average, between one-fourth and one-third of Canadians are obese, depending on the region.”

To read the full article…..Click here