"This health bulletin must wake up the population, particularly people that live outside great urban areas, so that they observe the environment and their lifestyle, explains Dr. Honos. Research shows that routine physical activity is at least one factor connected to the lower rate of obesity observed in the main urban centres."
Last year, the Annual Report Card on Canadians' Health: Fat is the new tobacco, emphasizes on the growing problem of weight gain and obesity, and has asked governments as well as the industry to make healthy food more accessible to the Canadian population. This year's Report Card mentions another side of the overweight problem: physical activity.
It's not a coincidence that our physical activity level is lowering at the same time as the obesity rate is rising. Almost 50% of adults in Quebec and Canada, and 28% of children in Quebec (compared to 37% of Canadian children) are currently considered to be overweight or obese.
The Foundation underlines that each additional kilometre walked in the course of a day reduces the risk of obesity of close to 5%, while every hour spent in a car increases this same risk by 6%. "These percentages add up rapidly because of the time spent in a car going to and from work. Nobody should take them lightly", says Dr. Honos.
The Heart Disease Foundation recommends the population to practice physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day. According to Dr. Larry Frank's research, member of the consulting Committee to promote health and the protocol of the Heart Disease Foundation, assistant professor and recipient of the Bombardier Chair of the University of British Columbia, people living in moderate to heavy neighbourhoods and that dispose of community and commercial services from a walking distance from their residence are 2.4 times more susceptible to reach the minimum daily recommendation of 30 minutes
"Unfortunately, the non-metropolitan zones often discourage physical activity. In fact, the residents are exposed daily to urbanism effects that defy the heart's health, says Dr. Avi Freidman, lecturer of the Heart Disease Foundation and professor of the architecture School of McGill University. Commerce located outside urban centres is mainly designed for access by automobile. Sidewalks and bike paths shine by their absence, which makes Canadian suburbanites prisoners of their cars."
An inquiry held in 2002 upon Canadian municipalities has revealed that the bigger agglomerates are more apt than smaller ones at offering paths that favour walking and bicycling, as well as the mandatory layout of walking and cycling paths in new developments.
The health Report Card warns the entire Canadian population, particularly the people who live in the country or the suburbs, to expose the dependency of cars and make them more conscious of their environment. The Heart Disease Foundation also collaborates with various national health organisms in order to encourage governments to invest more in promoting healthy lifestyles and areas that encourage them. The Foundation finances the research on the social and environmental aspects of obesity, including studies on how urbanism influences physical activity and health.
The Heart Disease Foundation of Nova Scotia shows such an example of their leadership. In a recent report, titled The Cost of Physical Inactivity in Halifax Regional Municipality, it shows the relation between health and urban planning, and highlights the potential cost reductions - in terms of lives, not dollars and productivity - in the development of healthy and active areas.
"The governments must recognize that urbanism that makes walking to your destination possible, even more reasonable, has become a more critical stake in the protection of public health", says Dr. Yan Kestens, spokesperson, researcher for the Heart Disease Foundation and scholarship holder in social and preventive medicine at the Université de Montréal. "The structuring of our lifestyles has a significant impact on our health."
Last year, the Annual Report Card on Canadians' Health: Fat is the new tobacco, emphasizes on the growing problem of weight gain and obesity, and has asked governments as well as the industry to make healthy food more accessible to the Canadian population. This year's Report Card mentions another side of the overweight problem: physical activity.
It's not a coincidence that our physical activity level is lowering at the same time as the obesity rate is rising. Almost 50% of adults in Quebec and Canada, and 28% of children in Quebec (compared to 37% of Canadian children) are currently considered to be overweight or obese.
The Foundation underlines that each additional kilometre walked in the course of a day reduces the risk of obesity of close to 5%, while every hour spent in a car increases this same risk by 6%. "These percentages add up rapidly because of the time spent in a car going to and from work. Nobody should take them lightly", says Dr. Honos.
The Heart Disease Foundation recommends the population to practice physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day. According to Dr. Larry Frank's research, member of the consulting Committee to promote health and the protocol of the Heart Disease Foundation, assistant professor and recipient of the Bombardier Chair of the University of British Columbia, people living in moderate to heavy neighbourhoods and that dispose of community and commercial services from a walking distance from their residence are 2.4 times more susceptible to reach the minimum daily recommendation of 30 minutes
"Unfortunately, the non-metropolitan zones often discourage physical activity. In fact, the residents are exposed daily to urbanism effects that defy the heart's health, says Dr. Avi Freidman, lecturer of the Heart Disease Foundation and professor of the architecture School of McGill University. Commerce located outside urban centres is mainly designed for access by automobile. Sidewalks and bike paths shine by their absence, which makes Canadian suburbanites prisoners of their cars."
An inquiry held in 2002 upon Canadian municipalities has revealed that the bigger agglomerates are more apt than smaller ones at offering paths that favour walking and bicycling, as well as the mandatory layout of walking and cycling paths in new developments.
The health Report Card warns the entire Canadian population, particularly the people who live in the country or the suburbs, to expose the dependency of cars and make them more conscious of their environment. The Heart Disease Foundation also collaborates with various national health organisms in order to encourage governments to invest more in promoting healthy lifestyles and areas that encourage them. The Foundation finances the research on the social and environmental aspects of obesity, including studies on how urbanism influences physical activity and health.
The Heart Disease Foundation of Nova Scotia shows such an example of their leadership. In a recent report, titled The Cost of Physical Inactivity in Halifax Regional Municipality, it shows the relation between health and urban planning, and highlights the potential cost reductions - in terms of lives, not dollars and productivity - in the development of healthy and active areas.
"The governments must recognize that urbanism that makes walking to your destination possible, even more reasonable, has become a more critical stake in the protection of public health", says Dr. Yan Kestens, spokesperson, researcher for the Heart Disease Foundation and scholarship holder in social and preventive medicine at the Université de Montréal. "The structuring of our lifestyles has a significant impact on our health."