Ottawa, partners commit $4.5M to treating and understanding obesity
Posted April 30, 2015 8:30 pm.
Last Updated April 30, 2015 8:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Canadian government and its partners have committed $4.5 million in funding to treat and better understand the country’s obese, calling it a “complex health issue.”
Health Minister Rona Ambrose, in Toronto for a week-long obesity conference, said $2.7 million will come from Ottawa and go toward weight management programs for children, fecal transplant research and providing guidance to doctors.
The funding will be spread over five years.
“We spend a lot of money treating those complications of obesity and very little money preventing obesity,” said Dr. Arya Sharma of the Canadian Obesity Network.
“Obesity is a complex chronic disease for which there are no one-size-fits all solutions.”
In Canada, one-quarter of adults are obese — have a body mass index over 30 — data from the Canadian Community Health Survey shows. One in five children is overweight and one in 10 is considered obese.
And according to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). obesity increases the risk of chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
