Fredericton, New Brunswick – Politicians, experts and parents must work together if Canada is to defeat the obesity crisis, Senator Kelvin Ogilvie said Monday.

Invited by the New Brunswick Medical Society to speak at the Forum on Healthy Weights in Fredericton, NB, Senator Ogilvie shared highlights of a comprehensive report on obesity that the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology released in March. Senator Ogilvie is chair of the committee.

The report — Obesity in Canada: A Whole-of-Society Approach for a Healthier Canada — made 21 recommendations to combat the obesity epidemic while emphasizing the need for swift action: nearly two thirds of adults and one third of children in Canada are overweight or obese.

Experts have an important role to play in helping to craft badly-needed revisions to Canada’s dated food guide, and parents can help their children learn the value of living a healthy lifestyle. Instilling good habits in youth will lead to a generation of healthier and happier adults who will in turn pass on these habits to their children.

But the federal government should lead the battle against obesity, Senator Ogilvie argued. The committee’s report offers a number of strategies the government could easily pursue. Updating the food guide, enforcing more transparent food and beverage labelling, banning advertising to children, and imposing a tax on sugar- and artificially-sweetened drinks are all options that the federal government should consider, he said.

Although the federal government commended the Senate for its work on the report in August it has so far not committed to a timeline for any significant action, even though 48,000 to 66,000 Canadians die each year from conditions linked to excess weight.

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“The obesity crisis can no longer be ignored. Resolving it must begin with our youth so we can reverse the alarming trend towards weight gain. The economic cost alone is between $4.6 billion and $7.1 billion each year. More importantly, obesity costs lives and dramatically impacts quality of life. Our report describes in great detail a number of practical solutions that could help. All that is required is the will to act.”

- Senator Kelvin Ogilvie

Associated Links

• Click to read a copy of the report, Obesity in Canada: A Whole-of-Society Approach for a Healthier Canada.
• The Senate is on Twitter @SenateCA. Follow the committee using the hashtag #SOCI.

For more information, please contact:

Geneviève Sicard
Stakeholders Outreach Officer
Senate of Canada
343-998-5669
genevieve.sicard@sen.parl.ca