Northern smoking, drinking rates highest in Canada: 2014 health report

A string of recent reports say the three territories aregetting a failing grade when it comes to health issues such assmoking, binge drinking and obesity.

Statistics Canada recently released 2014 datalooking at the prevalence of different health issues in provinces and territories in Canada.

N.W.T.: Heavy drinking

The Northwest Territories did the worst in a number of categories. The territory had the highestproportion of residents who were obese(33.7 per cent)in the country. The overallCanadian obesity rate was 20.2 per cent.

Statistics Canada measured obesity by the heights and weights reported by the people who were surveyed.

Yukonand Nunavut reported rates of obesity that were about the same as the national average.

The N.W.Talso had the highest proportionof people who reported heavy drinking. That was defined as having five or more drinksper occasion for men, four for women, at least once a month during the past year.

In N.W.T.,32.7 per cent of residents reported heavy drinking, compared to the Canadian average of 17.9 per cent.

N.W.T. also had the second-highest proportion of smokersin the country, at 33.3 per cent of people age 12 and over, compared to the Canadian average of 18.1 per cent, and the second-highest rate of people without a regulardoctor at 57.7 per cent.

Nunavut: Most smoking, fewestvegetables

Nunavuthad the highest smokingrate in Canada at 62 per cent, nearly twice that of runner-up N.W.T. It also hadthe lowest proportion of residents who reported eating five servings of vegetables each day(23.9 per cent of residents). The Canadian average was 39.5 per cent.

It reported the lowestproportion of residents who said they were at least moderately active, at 39.7 per cent.

Moderatelyactive was defined as the equivalent ofwalking at least 30 minutes a day or taking an hour-long exercise class at least three times a week.

Nunavut also had the highest rate of residents that did not have a family doctor, at 82.5 per cent of residents.

Yukon: Most active

Yukon had the second-highest percentage of residents who reported heavy drinking, at 27.8 per cent.

The territory also had thethird-highestsmoking rate, at26.2 per cent,and the third-highest percentage of people without a regular doctor, at 26.1 per cent.

Statistics Canada alsosays that Yukoners are the most active people in the country, with 64.6 per centof Yukon residents reporting they were at least moderately active during their leisure time, compared to the Canadian average of 54 per cent.

Northerners reported the lowest rates of high blood pressure, with 8.3per cent of Nunavutresidents and 12.3 per cent of N.W.T. residents reportingthey had been diagnosed with high blood pressure. That's compared to the Canadian average of about 18 per cent.

Diabetes and asthma rates across the North were about the same as the national rate of six per cent and eight per cent,respectively.