About 1/3 Canadians suffer from obesity, and researchers saw a steady increase during epidemic

About one-third of the Canadians have become thicker-with more weight gain during the mahamari, According to a new study,

Research published on Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found that 32.7 percent Canadian (10.6 million people) in 2023 were obese – an increase of about eight percentage points since 2009.

But researchers also saw an increase in obesity during the Kovid -19 epidemic.

“Epidemination had such a profound impact on our daily life … including changes in our food behavior and access to healthy foods,” said Laura Anderson, “The study, the lead author and the Associate Professor in Hamilton, Hamilton, McMaster University in Onts, Associate Professors in Research methods, evidence and influence at McMaster University.

Obesity is a medical condition that puts people High risk of other serious health issues Such as stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. With repeated lock -down people forcing people to stay at home during the epidemics, the researchers wanted to see how it changed the weight of the people.

To study this, Anderson and his team saw data from the most recent self-reported body mass index (BMI) of 746,250 Canadians, which were 18 years or older between 2009 and 2023.

Researchers followed Definition of world health organization The matter of obesity, someone classified such if they had more than 30 or more BMIs. For those who are Asians, the study authors adjusted the remedy, if they had more than 27.5 BMIs, classified to get fat.

(BMI It has problems as health remediesThis is not a direct remedy for body fat and for example, is not responsible for the difference in ethnic groups, sex or gender. However, it is still a favorite measure for researchers who look at groups and population level trends.)

Prior to Covid-19, Anderson says Canada’s obesity rate was growing by about 0.5 percent per year. But during the epidemic, she says that the rate doubled, which means that the rate of obesity has increased by about one percent per year.

While research did not see why this would have happened, an internal medical doctor Dr. Sean Wharton, who works with people struggling with obesity, says that mental health issues may have played a role.

“There was separation and depression,” Wharton said, who did not participate in the new CMAJ study. Wharton says he is a clinical advisor for all weight -loss pharmaceutical companies.

“Those who were living with depression, their depression (is done) can be worse. And that is the place where we saw people gain an increase in their weight.”

Asked if the obesity rate will fall now, Wharton says he does not think so.

“Once you have that weight gain, it is actually difficult to close.”

More women, young people got fat

During the 15 -year study period and during epidemic, the greatest growth in obesity was in young adults between the ages of 18 and 39.

And in particular, research found that the increasing number of women became severely thicker, which the authors considered a BMI of 40 or more.

While the study did not detect the cause behind it, Anderson says it may be “women had increased the stress and burden of other care duties during the epidemic.”

And it was a case for Toronto resident Angela Martin.

During Kovid -19, he worked as a nurse in a family doctor’s office. She also separated from her partner. Between those two incidents, Martin says 2020 was a difficult year.

“Turning back, I was not very well,” he said.

Even though she was struggling with obesity throughout her life, Martin said she gained a significant amount of weight in the early Kovid months.

“I mean you did a thing that you could do … You were not stopped from cooking so I tried all new dishes and then you could not go to the gym,” he said.

Jump in severe obesity worries experts

While more people became generally obese, the authors of the study were most concerned about the increase in people with serious obesity.

In 2009, about 2.4 percent of the Canadians were severely thick, but in 2023 it increased to about five percent.

“With more severe rates of obesity, we are going to see more complications,” said Wharton.

In particular, he said that people are more at risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis or heart disease.

Given other conditions affecting people suffering from obesity, research found that half of them had no chronic health conditions, but five to 10 percent was between three to six long -term health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Weight -deficit drugs can affect data

This study saw data up to 2023, so it is not yet clear what is the increasing availability of weight loss drugs. Vegovi -On the last year, there may be post-pandemic at the rates of approved-approved.

The study note that already changing, but drugs were not widely available during their years of study.

Researchers did not dive into their studies, and would not be able to detect it until more data comes out.