"Nutrition is the intake of food, considered in relation to the body's dietary needs."[1] Healthy food consumption is eating a variety of food from all food groups, including fruit and vegetables, grains, meat and alternatives, milk and alternatives, healthy oils and fats and drinking lots of water.[2]
Weight is a person's body mass.
Why is this important?
A nutritious and balanced diet is a critical component of overall good health.[3,4] Benefits of healthy eating, alongside being active include improved overall health, decreased likelihood of disease, increased energy, healthy body weight, feeling better and stronger muscles and bones.[5] Poor nutrition can lead to decreased immunity, increased likelihood of disease, and negative impacts on physical and mental development.[1] Access to healthy food is directly connected to income. When people live in poverty, it is also very likely that they struggle with food insecurity.
When a person is overweight or obese, they are at increased risk of non-communicable and chronic disease (including diabetes, cancer and respiratory issues); they have a decreased life expectancy; and they may also experience discrimination and social exclusion.[6] Obesity also makes it more likely people will experience sleep apnea.[7]
Indicators
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption |
Measure: Proportion of the Population consuming Vegetables 5 or More Times per DayFruit and vegetable consumption is amount of fruit and vegetables that people report eating each day.[8] Daily fruit and vegetable intake information was collected as part of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption module within the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Information is collected about how often the respondent usually eats/drinks, and how often they eat/drink items from each food group. Key FindingsFrom 2015 to 2017, 31% of Guelph residents (12+ years old), 33% of Wellington residents and 27% of Ontario residents ate 5 or more fruits and vegatables per day. Females in all three areas were more likely to report eating 5 or more fruits or vegetables each day, with females in Wellington County most likely (47%) to eat fruits and vegetables when compared to Guelph (35%) and Ontario (33%). Loading Chart...
*** Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph in this table. Data Source: Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Statistics Canada, Annual Content (2015-2017), Ontario Share File distributed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Prepared by: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. Last updated May 2019. Why is eating Fruit and Vegetables Important?Eating a diet that includes a variety of fruit and vegetables can protect people from getting certain cancers[9] and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease.[10] Increased fruit and vegetable consumption can also help people lose weight or stay at a health weight.[11] Limitations of this measureFood intake is typically underreported by adults for several reasons: difficulty accurately recalling food intake; social desirability; and/or having one or more of the following characteristics: high BMI, body dissatisfaction and not smoking. These results should be interpreted with caution.[15] Looking for more information?Please download the excel file below for:
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Body Weight |
Measure: BMI Classification and Obesity PrevalenceWeight is a person's body mass. This measure is captured through the CCHS and presents the proportion of adults, aged 18 and over, that are underweight (BMI <18.5), normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9) or obese (BMI ≥ 30.0) according to self-reported height and weight.[14] Key FindingsFrom 2015 to 2017, people in Wellington County were more likely to be classified as overweight (40%) or obese (25%), when compared to people living Guelph and Ontario (34% overweight, 20% obese). People living in Guelph and Ontario were more likely (44%) to be classified as normal weight when compared to people living in Wellington County (33%).
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*** Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph in this table. Source: Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Statistics Canada, Annual Content (2015-2017), Ontario Share File distributed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Prepared by: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. Last updated May 2019. Why is Body Weight Important?The Canadian body weight classification system uses the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference as an assessment of the risk of the development of health problems that are connected with overweight and underweight.[13] Being overweight or obese makes it more likely that a person will experience disease, and have a shorter life.[6] The Body Mass Index (BMI) is considered to be the most useful indicator of population health risks associated with both overweight and underweight."[13] LimitationsResults should be interpreted with the understanding that there is likely some underreporting of obese and overweight.[16] Looking for more information?Please download the excel file below for:
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Notes
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. The CCHS uses probability sampling and is conducted annually by Statistics Canada.
In probability sampling, each person in the sample represents (besides themselves) several other persons in the sample. A sample weight is calculated based on the number of people that that person represents within the population. For example, in a random sample of 1% of the population, each person in the sample would represent 100 persons in the population.[12]
References
[1] World Health Organization (2017). Nutrition. Available at: http://www.who.int/topics/nutrition/en/
[2] Government of Canada (n.d.). Build a health meal: use the Eat Well Plate. Available at: http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/eating-nutrition/healthy-eating-saine-alimentation/tips-conseils/interactive-tools-outils-interactifs/eat-well-bien-manger-eng.php
[3] World Health Organization (2016). Health diet. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs394/en/
[4] Dieticians of Canada (2016) Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide. Available at: http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Food-guides/Eating-well-with-Canada-s-Food-Guide.aspx#.VvBfFJMrLaZ
[5] Health Canada (2007) Maintaining Health Habits.Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/maintain-adopt/index-eng.php
[6] Raine, K. (2004). Overweight and Obesity in Canada. A Population Health Perspective. Canadian Institute for Health information.
[7] Romero-Corral A, Caples SM, Lopez-Jimenez F, Somers VK. (2010). Interactions between obesity and obstructive sleep apnea: implications for treatment. Chest. 2010;137(3):711-719. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20202954
[8] Government of Ontario (2009). Initial Report on Public Health. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Available at: https://rnao.ca/sites/rnao-ca/files/PMWG_Initial_Report_2009.pdf
[9] World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research (2007). Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective. Washington, DC: AIRC
[10] Hung H.C, Joshipura K.J, Jiang R, et al. (2004). Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of major chronic disease. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 96(21):1577-84.
[11] Mytton, O.T., Nnoaham, K., Eyles, H., Scarborough, P. , Ni Murchu, C. (2014). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of increased vegetable and fruit consumption on body weight and energy intake. Bio Medical Centre Public Health: 14
[12] Statistics Canada (2015). Canadian Community Health Survey - Annual Component (CCHS). Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3226
[13] Health Canada (2011). Canadian Guidelines for Body Weight Classification in Adults. Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/weights-poids/guide-ld-adult/qa-qr-pub-eng.php
[14] Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO). Adult Body Mass Index. Available at: http://core.apheo.ca/index.php?pid=127
[15] Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch. Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004)-A Guide to Accessing and Interpreting the Data (Catalogue No. H164-20/2006E). Ottawa, ON: Health Canada, 2006.
[16] Skeie, Guri, et al. "Validity of self-reported body mass index among middle-aged participants in the Norwegian Women and Cancer study." Clinical epidemiology 7 (2015): 313.