Media Clipping — Tuesday, March 30, 2000, The Chronicle Herald, Halifax

Obesity weighing down provincial deficit, says researcher

By Susan Leblanc

Premier John Hamm has said trimming goverment fat will help erase the deficit.

But according to research released Wednesday, he should reduce the fat amoug Nova Scotians first.

Obesity costs the province $260 million in direct and indirect costs each year, researcher Ron Colman said.

By wiping out obesity, "at that rate, we could eliminate the provincial deficit in three years," he told a conference on healthy weights held in Dartmouth.

A deficit of $767 million has been projected for this fiscal year.

Mr. Colman, who runs the non-profit research firm GPI Atlantic, said obesity causes a host of chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and gall bladder disease.

Overweight people are also more likely to develop conditions such as arthritis, asthma, gout and back problems.

The direct obesity-linked cost of these conditions to the healthcare system is $120 million a year, said Mr. Colman, calling that estimate conservative.

Direct health-care costs are defined as visits to doctors, hospital care and medications.

Hypertension caused by obesity cost taxpayers $24 million in 1997, said Mr. Colman's report, Costs of Obesity in Nova Scotia.

The report was commissioned for the conference of government staff members,researchers and food industry representatives.

Another $140 million is lost in the workplace, he said, because obese people more often take sick days, go on long-term disability and die prematurely.

An estimated 1,000 nova Scotians die prematurely each year because of obesity, he said.

So super-sizing that fast-food lunch costs much more than a few cents, Mr. Colman said.

"That is not the true price. The true cost of that (super-sizing) is borne later," he said. "Population health makes economic sense."

Cancer Care Nova Scotia, which helped organize the conference, says one in five cancers can be linked to diet.

The World Health Organization has said there is an obesity epidemic worldwide, Nova Scotia is no exception.

About 38 per cent of Nova Scotia adults over 20 are obese. The number of obese adults doubled between 1985 and 1997.

That places Nova Scotia second in the country, behind New Brunswick.

People are said to have a "probable health risk" and be obese if they have a body mass index of 27 or greater. Body mass index is calculated using a person's Weight and height.

A man who's five-foot-10 and tips the scales at 140 to 170 pounds is considered to have a healthy weight and an index under 25. A woman who's five-foot-two has a healthy weight and index under 25 if she weights 105 to 135 pounds.

In Nova Scotia, men are more likely to be overweight than women are and men exercise less, according to Mr. Colman.

Low-income and older people also tend to put on the pounds.

There is no recent data on obesity among young people, though Mr. Colman said the incidence is scarv.

While government devotes only two per cent of its health dollars to disease prevention, people are bombarded with billions of dollars in fast-food industry advertising, he said.

In effect, our children are getting their education about diet from the food industry and in particular the fast-food industry."

Possible factors leading to growing obesity include people working longer hours, more sedentary jobs, widespread stress and fewer home-cooked meals, Mr. Colman said.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotians watch slightly more television then other Canadians do.

Mr. Colman said the point is not to make overweight people feel bad, but to bring the issue out of the closet as a health concern.

By investing in nutritional education, "you could save a lot of lives, a lot of illness, a lot of money."

Coupled with the $367 million that tobacco use is said to cost the provincial economy each year, it's clear poor health choices take a huge toll, he said.

Health Minister Jamie Muir said in a news release the province must fight the disease.

"There are also potential cost savings to the health-care system if Nova Scotians had healthier weights," Mr. Muir said.

One expert has suggested consumers pay higher taxes on junk foods than on healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, Mr. Colman said.

Copyright © 2000, The Chronicle Herald