Application of Epidemiology to Obesity

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Obesity: Canada vs. The United States of America

Application of Epidemiology to Obesity

1. analyzing the obesity problem in the U.S. as compared to another developed country in which the obesity problem is not as significant. Include factors such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and marital status in your analysis.

Obesity in the United States is now at epidemic levels. The prevalence of adult obesity as well as childhood obesity in the United States appears much higher compared to other developed countries such as Canada (Wang, 2001). Although Canada is also in North America, and is a country that most would think would parallel the United States, the country has more modest increases in obesity for men and a decrease in obesity for women between 1978 and 1988, although obesity has increased since then (CTV, 2013).

The obesity crisis is much worse in the United States than it is in Canada. Americans are famous and well known for having , huge, jumbo or super-sized portions, big appetites, and big waistlines. With nearly 70% of Americans overweight or obese (CDC, 2011).

According to a new study, although obesity is increasing in both Canada and the U.S., less than a quarter of Canadian adults (24.1 per cent) are obese, compared to the United States with (34.4 per cent) . In a joint effort from Statistics Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Health. The researchers found that 24.3 percent of Canadian males are considered obese, compared with 32.6 percent of their American counterparts. This gap widens among women: Between 2007-2009 approximately 23.9 per cent of Canadian women were considered obese, compared to 36.2 percent of their American counterparts (CDC, 2011; CTV, 2013).

Additionally, the research indicates that the prevalence of obesity among men has also increased over the past two decades by approximately 7 percent in Canada , and 18 percent in the U.S. The overall change in women were eight and 10 percent. For men, this increase was highest among seniors, aged 60 to 74 in both countries. However, for women, the increase was highest among those in the 20 to 39 age group (CDC, 2011).

Obesity for women is strongly negatively associated with education, and has been that way since the early 1970s and continues to be true today. Further, while obesity has increased for all education groups. In men, obesity is relatively independent of education and has been for the past few decades (Cutler, Glaeser and Shapiro, 2003).

Higher incomes, at least as reflected in increased education, would actually lower obesity. trends in education, age, race, marital status, employment, occupation and the employment status of the spouse of the head of the household explain just approximately 20 percent of the increase in BMI and obesity for this period and demographic changes have no effect (Cutler, et al. , 2003).

A very noteworthy point however, is that as the CDC study indicated the ethnic mix in each country is different. Specifically, American non-white population is mainly of Hispanics and blacks, who are more likely to become obese than white Americans, for reasons including but not limited to age, education, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and marital status (CDC, 2011).

In contrast, Canadian non-whites are made up primarily of blacks and East/Southeast Asians, who are less likely to become obese than white Canadians. In Canada, the surveys were conducted in the United States, the surveys were conducted between 1988 and 1994 and again between 2007 and 2008. In Canada, numbers were gathered between 1986 and 1992, as well as between 2007 and 2009(CDC, 2011). Obesity rates are also highest among Canada's aboriginal people: 37.8 per cent of aboriginal adults are obese while in the United States the physical burden of obesity lies mostly with Blacks and Hispanics(CDC, 2011; Picard, 2012).

Mississippi is home to the largest amount of obese individuals, securing a 37 percent obesity rate of total obese individuals in the United States. It is projected that if nothing is done to halt this spread, Mississippi will have a 70 percent obesity level by the year 2030(CDC, 2013). While in Canada British Columbia is the leanest province, in the U.S. Colorado is the thinnest with approximately 20 percent of the population that are listed as obese.

2. Reasons why the rate of obesity is higher in the U.S. than in Canada

So what explains this growth in obesity? Why is obesity higher in the United States than in Canada or any other developed country? Some reasons include but re not limited to:

Like it is with gun-control, research indicates that countries that are more regulated countries are 7 percent less obese than their less regulated counterparts( Cutler, Glaeser & Shapiro , 2003).

Countries with greater time delays to opening new businesses are less obese than countries with shorter times. Canada is much more regulated than the United States(Cutler et al., 2003).

Foods are not as 'super-sized' in Canada, and especially in fast food restaurants and diners (diners are not ...