More than two thirds, 68 per cent of Canadian adults between 18 and 79 years of age, had a body mass index (BMI) indicating they are overweight or obese in 2024, up from 60 per cent who were in the same position before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Statistics Canada study, comparing the period from 2016 to 2019 to the period from 2022 to 2024, found the prevalence of obesity increased from 25 per cent before the pandemic to 33 per cent. “This is in line with research suggesting that pandemic-related changes in lifestyle, including reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behaviour, may have contributed to higher obesity levels in adults,” they write.
Increased health risks
The report, entitled The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise in Canada: New results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2022 to 2024, also found that about half of adults had a waist circumference above the thresholds associated with increased health risks. Among children between five and 17 years of age, 31 per cent were overweight or obese.
The number of men in the obesity range increased from 27 per cent to 35 per cent over the study period. The number of women in the same range jumped from 24 per cent to 32 per cent. Prevalence was highest among adults between 40 and 59 (38 per cent of men and 35 per cent of women were affected). The largest increase, however, was observed among adults between 18 and 39 years of age – the statistic climbed from 22 per cent to 33 per cent for men and from 17 per cent to 29 per cent for women.
“During the period from 2022 to 2024, 40 per cent of males and 30 per cent of females were classified in the overweight range. Combined with those as having obesity, nearly three in four males (74 per cent) and almost two in three females (62 per cent) had a BMI associated with increased health risks,” they write.
