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Obesity, overweight and ethnicity.
Mark S Tremblay1, Claudio E Pérez, Chris I Ardern
1Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6. mark.tremblay@statcan.ca
Health Reports
|September 30, 2005
Summary
Obesity rates are highest among Aboriginal peoples and lowest in East/Southeast Asians in Canada. Recent immigrants have lower overweight risks, but this benefit diminishes over time.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Sociology
Background:
- Overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns.
- Ethnic and immigration factors may influence body mass index (BMI) distribution.
- Understanding these disparities is crucial for targeted health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity by ethnicity in Canada.
- To investigate the impact of time since immigration on these prevalences within and between ethnic groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from Statistics Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey (2000/01 and 2003).
- Calculated weighted prevalences of overweight (BMI ≥25) and obesity (BMI ≥30) by sex and ethnicity (ages 20-64).
- Employed multiple logistic regression, controlling for age, income, education, and physical activity, to analyze ethnicity and immigration duration effects.
Main Results:
- Aboriginal individuals exhibited the highest overweight/obesity rates; East/Southeast Asians had the lowest.
- Aboriginal people had higher odds of overweight/obesity compared to Whites, while South Asians and East/Southeast Asians had lower odds.
- Recent immigrants (≤10 years) showed lower overweight prevalence than non-immigrants, a difference that decreased with longer duration of stay.
Conclusions:
- Significant ethnic variations in overweight and obesity exist in Canada.
- Immigration status is associated with BMI, with protective effects diminishing over time.
- Public health strategies should consider ethnicity and immigration duration to address obesity disparities.