Article: Fat ousts tobacco as a threat to life

KAREN PALMER
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER

Fat is the new tobacco, according to the canadian Heart and Stroke
Foundation.

"Obesity is the greatest threat ever to the public's health in this
country," Dr. Anthony Graham said yesterday as he unveiled the
organization's annual report card on heart health.

"It has reached such a critical mass that this health risk now compares
to where we were 30 years ago when half of Canadians smoked."

Graham called for a harsh crackdown on the food industry, one that
mirrored the anti-smoking lobby's tactics against tobacco, including
restrictions on advertising aimed at children, better labels and more
transparency on the calorie counts on fast foods.

"The number of Canadians who are overweight or obese has reached
epidemic proportions," Graham said.

"The Heart and Stroke Foundation is not exaggerating when we say that
fat is now the new tobacco."

While heart experts have focused on the dangers of smoking,
successfully driving smoking rates across Canada down to just under 25
per cent, they've lost major ground in dealing with obesity.

In fact, smoking rates have dropped by 53 per cent since the 1970s,
while the number of people with a body mass index of more than 30 has
increased by 50 per cent.

"On the one hand, we've made significant progress in reducing the
amount of cigarette consumption over the past few decades," said
Graham, a cardiologist.

"At the same time, we've seen this steady and progressive increase in
obesity, such that it's now equal to where we were three decades ago
with tobacco."

Obesity is linked with chronic conditions from heart disease to heart
attacks, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Data from Statistics Canada cited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation
yesterday show one of every two Canadians is overweight or has a body
mass index of more than 25, while one in seven is obese.

The numbers reflect a society surrounded by super-sized fast food
portions, yet starved for exercise options.

One suggestion is to super-size the salad instead of charging more to
replace the fries that already go with the meal.

"I think it's pretty easy to slip into a pattern where you keep packing
on the pounds and you don't quite realize it," said Sandi Peroff, whose
weight dropped down to 110 pounds (50 kilograms) after she lost 49
pounds (22 kg.) following double-bypass heart surgery in October, 2001.


Working as a nurse at St. Michael's Hospital and chasing after three
children kept her busy enough that she rarely had time to exercise and
sought quick, convenient meals.

However, after doctors discovered a 95 per cent blockage in her left
coronary artery, she attended a cardio rehabilitation clinic and began
exercising at least 40 minutes, four or five times a week.

"We eat very healthy now, but it is difficult. There are a lot of foods
out there and we get swayed by a lot of advertising," she said.

"It really takes time to read the food labels and to know how to read
food labels."

"It's our society and the lifestyle we have. Everything's so
fast-paced, you're in a rush to make meals," said Dr. Peter
Katzymarzyk, an epidemiologist at Queen's University.

"Unless something is done quickly, this trend will continue and the
number of Canadians at risk will continue to grow," he said.

"The outlook for the health of Canadians and the Canadian health-care
system is bleak."

While the Heart and Stroke Foundation suggested federal, provincial and
municipal governments should pay more attention to promoting physical
activity, Graham also suggested food makers need to modify their
products to contain fewer fats.

He also called for more stringent labelling requirements that will
clearly spell out how much fat and calories a product contains, but
said there are no plans suggest that we take a page from the
anti-tobacco book and adorn fatty foods with gruesome pictures.

He said a recent Heart and Stroke Foundation survey found 70 per cent
of Canadians were in favour of restricting food advertising aimed at
children.

"I think the industry needs to think about that every seriously," he
said.

Despite the similarities to the anti-tobacco campaign, Katzymarzyk said
focusing solely on the food industry won't solve the problem.

"Everybody needs to eat, but not everybody needs to smoke. We all go
out and buy groceries, it's just a matter of making healthy food
choices.

``It's not fair to regulate that," he said.

"We recognize it's not just about what you eat: it's also about helping
people increase physical activity and achieve a healthy weight," Graham
said.

"Unhealthy weight is becoming firmly entrenched in our society. We must
turn this growing epidemic around for the sake of future generations.

"If not, all the progress made in reducing death and disability from
heart disease and stroke over the past three decades will be lost."

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Diva
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There is no substitute for the right food