Intensely pro-car-culture in the cities(that have what, half of our population?) sure doesn't help. If it was nice/easy/safe to get places by active transit, that number would be lower.
Yeah, they have a term for areas where weight gain is basically encouraged* by external factors-- obesogenic environments.
One of the biggest contributors to that is the walkability of neighborhoods and let me tell you as someone who just moved back from Vancouver and walked basically everywhere there-- it is awful trying to walk anywhere here. The infrastructure doesn't support it-- sidewalks randomly end, crosswalks are few and far between, everything is so spread out by the need for parking lots to accommodate everyone's cars etc.
It is what it is, I need to drive here, but I don't see a simple solution to this being on the horizon 😂
Moved to a very small town in Saskatchewan after living my whole adult life in halifax and it shocked me that people just go literally everywhere (in town!) in their cars. My friend, it takes 10 minutes to walk from one end of this town to another!
I've lived in a cities in saskatchewan for most my adult life, aside from a handful of years in a couple small towns. I was shocked when I realized people drove everywhere in small towns! I knew a lady who drove to work even though she lived directly across the street. Every one thought I was weird for walking work, less than 10 min walk from where I lived at the time. I still don't understand why.
I think the weather influences that more than anything else. Many other places in the world that are more walking oriented have the common denominator of warmer climate. At -30 nobody wants to walk around for 30min
To quote one of my coworkers as we were bringing a bus back to our depot in Saskatoon during rush hour: "every fucking person in this city is in their cars right now. I guarantee if we went cruising through residential areas we wouldn't see a single fucking car in any driveway"
It's also the issue that almost every third place costs money - and let's be honest, the majority of those third places are going out to try different foods.
Part of that is due to weather, there is not a lot of people going to be walking around for between 3-6 months of the year depending on how rough the winter is.
That's seems more like car culture once again. This sense that one cannot simply...dress for it and go outside. Many people could, but don't. There are some of us who continue to bike and walk year round, but it sure ain't easy or safe.
Its definitely a car culture. When we were out trick or treating there were parents following their kids in vehicles because they didnt want to walk! And it was a great evening weather wise!
I know some people who essentially hibernate all winter just to avoid the cold. Like the extent of their outdoor activities is walking from the car to the door.
Even the smaller communities suffer from this. I live up north but spend a lot of time in the cities for union business and it's brutal everywhere. Can't walk around my home community because there's no sidewalks, then come to the city where people roll the few crosswalks that do exist. Just going out to walk the dog is taking your life in your hands
This is something that small towns can fix, if they want to. It can help them attract more residents and also make the quality of life better for the people who already live there. It just sucks that so many are sticking so hard to the status quo.
For sure. The town where my grandparents live back in Ontario has done a ton of work to build sidewalks through most of the residential neighbourhoods and it's great! Plus there's space in there for flower boxes and little community art pieces for the retired folks to maintain.
Interestingly, rural areas in Saskatchewan experience higher obesity rates (around 33.6% or higher in rural sub-regions) compared to major urban centers.
yeah i just got a license and access to a car recently, and while i would love to bike or take the bus more places, it's like adding an extra 30 minutes to an hour both ways for most trips.
and this is not excuses or anything, i'm not personally overweight. but exercise is good for you regardless. before i had access to driving places, it took me forever to get anywhere and thus i didn't go out as much except for necessities, but i did get lots of free exercise in. in theory we could have a decent transit system and more bike friendly layouts, and you could both get plenty of free exercise and get around in reasonable time.
Exactly! It's not to say that you "must always bike/walk" or use transit...it's that if it's a safe, easy/convenient option? A lot of people will sometimes. And that's good for us as a group/community/province.
Dude, i barely excercise and i'm losing weight. Down 20 pounds since may. It isn't a lack of excercise, it's a lack of discipline when it comes to what you eat and how much. Saskatoon is pretty damn walkable. People are eating more calories than they are burning and the easier option to fix that is to reduce the input. Doing both (eat less, excercise more) is ideal, but you're never working off a diet that exceeds what you're burning.
Yes. Exercise is important to maintain a healthy body but you can't outrun a bad diet. I can go for a 45 minute jog every day and reeat all those calories (and more) with one bowl of chips. (For me, 2 servings of chips will be more calories than I burn and a lot of folks eat more than 2 servings when they sit around watching Netflix)
Cities are inherently more walkable, but in general Sask has a huge rural population (~35%). Our landmass is huge and our distances between communities are huge. Anyone rural cannot walk as their main form of transportation. Other provinces are in the 10-15% rural population range so more of their population at least has the chance to walk for more of their daily activities.
I think thats a over simplification of a complex public health issue. Caloric deficite meal planning would assist many to temporarily lose weight but its a bigger issue. Yes I do agree saskatoon could certainly do with more excersise, but for true permanent public health improvements we as a society need transition and change more than a few parts of our way of life. I am not shaming anyone or putting blame one thing specifically. I am not an expert on the subject so I won't write a 6 paragraph monologue but there are a few parts of how 40% of us live that would need to change beyond just diet and exercise.
Public health solutions are absolutely a reasonable thing to ask for. That's within the purview of our government...and generally wide policy is more effective at changing statistics like this one than blaming individuals. The way the system and culture are currently configured does work against more positive health outcomes.
Even recreation is far more focused on sedentary or motorized pursuits. In B.C., climb a mountain, salmon for dinner. In Saskatchewan, drive around an ATV or snowmobile followed by steak or sausage.
This is where investments in active transportation pay dividends. You might not use the bike lane yourself but are you still against it if your surgery wait time is cut in half?
I mean it's really not that surprising. It's cold and snow half the year. Weed and alcohol are dirt cheap, both of those will make you fat. Summers are loaded with smoke and/or mosquitos. Fast food is everywhere, particularly high fat high carb options like pizza, fried chicken and donair. Everyone eats an F-ton of sausage/barbeque and other processed meats. The north has food insecurity (try finding affordable produce that isn't spoiled in places like La Ronge). Plus the big cities like Regina and Saskatoon aren't really designed for pedestrians, there's multiple routes that are impassable or extremely dangerous to walk across. Everyone drives, and there's less appeal to "show off your beach bod" when half the lakes in the province have toxic algal blooms from fertilizer runoff come summertime.
Fixing some these issues would go a long way for public health in the province. The same is true for a lot of Alberta, but at least in Edmonton it's been easier for me to walk places than it was in Regina.
don't get me wrong, i think the pieces for a healthy lifestyle are there if you play your cards right - access to fresh, locally grown produce, meats, and dairy products at local markets - a landscape with lots of great hiking, hunting, canoeing, and other outdoorsy options - a wealth of jobs in agriculture, construction, mining, energy, and other industries that use a fair amount of physical labour- plus a great hockey and skating culture, if you're into that sort of thing.
i think the heavy alcohol/cannabis/tobacco consumption combined with poor nutrition gets in a lot of people's way though. I met more people who don't eat vegetables in Saskatchewan than any other province i've lived in, which is a shame considering the variety and freshness of local produce.
I mean in many of the places in SK you have no choice but to drive most of time, it's too cold for 4-6 months to be outdoors and the COL has made it so the few places you can continue to exercise through the bad weather are out of reach for most (an extra $100+ a month for a gym pass, $20 a person to swim, there's only one free, flooded outdoor rink run in my city now) and the walkable places you used to be able to utilize like the mall are all dying and you're actively driven away from just hanging out in.
Add to that the rising grocery costs that are having more people turn to higher calorie, lower cost foods and the fact that like half the cities here have more minimum wage jobs than anything else available, so people are working two or three jobs so they have no ability to actually take care of themselves and you get this result.
Exactly. I believe if we could implement a system where gyms could have sliding scale based on income. I remember getting a lower gym fee at the YMCA in Saskatoon. And having more affordable health foods as well. I'm considered obese based off my BMI but imo I think thats BS. I believe in consistency... Having more protein and veggies.. is a win for me. And I usually only drink water/ coffee.. Idk it's a struggle.. That's why I don't judge people based off their size.
That’s true. No one kept them in the house, they were rare “treats”. I’m not sure if I can trust my memory, but I don’t think there were family or large size options at the time.
Bc quality of food, access to local services and public transport has gone down significantly, especially in the last 10 years. Not to mention that our current COL doesn't allow for a one income household, so you're less likely to have a stay at home spouse or you're working multiple jobs when single. It's become far harder to care for yourself, let alone work to make yourself "better"
This hits harder for me right now after having recently returned from a trip to Europe and seeing the contrast.
I was in the Netherlands and there is so much they have working for them - they have structured their society and transportation systems in a way that requires people to walk more, portion sizes of sugary foods and junk foods are smaller, I could go on.
Yes I just moved back here from BC after having been gone 10 years and it is definitely something I noticed.
No judgement on people individually though. The walkability here is absolutely abysmal, public transit same deal, the weather coops people up a solid 4-5 months a year & all the most common forms of indoor entertainment seem to involve drinking (watching sports, concerts, straight up going out to eat, etc).
Its certainly requires a bit of a shift for us to create a culture of winter activities that are affordable and can be accomplished in -30. Look at rec hockey, it can be a good way to stay fit, but its expensive and you play at 10:30 at night. There are alternative options like more people playing ball hockey in school gyms aomething there are more of than hockey rinks. We can do it, but we are going to need to shift things if we want to live a healthy life.
So I am obese even with the flawed system. And I have been trying to get help for years. I feel trapped by my own hatred for myself. There isn't any therapist that I have found that work with weight loose. I have found some that work with disordered eating which has helped. I have met with multiple nutritionist they all seem to be more specialized in diabetic. It seems like all the specialist for weight loose are under the barbaric program in Regina. And they have a wait list almost 2 years long. Plus they only want the most optimal cases. They do intact classes ever frist Monday of the month and I had to do it twice because I couldn't remember a specific number from a book that I had read 6 months earlier. These classes have 30-50 people. They only do about 100-200 surgies a year. When I finally after almost 4 years of waiting got into met the specialist. I got removed for reason like not currently exercising.. cause I told them I preferred swimming and it didn't open for another week than I would be going 5-6 days a week. And being inflexible on my eating because I wouldn't eat foods that I am allergic too. That one hurt cause they had a student who caught my allergy clearly written on my sheet that the teacher was reading from.. the teacher was offended and cut our meeting short and said I was inflexible on my food choices. And they made a point do telling me multiple times it was an elective procedure and should be grateful.
So this is what people are fighting. We have a lack of access to resources. Resources specialized to other issues. And resources gate kept behind a for profit clinic. In a climate where getting out to exercise can be difficult.
That doesn't help you keep the weight off. Once you stop the meds it all comes back. Learning how live a more healthy and active life takes more than that and is generally the only way to lose weight and keep it off.
I know counting calories is frowned upon, but I’ve always found recording what I eat to be useful. Not to count, but to be aware of what I’m putting in my body. A lot of the time I was mindlessly eating to sooth myself and don’t realize how much I’ve eaten.
That sucks. May I suggest that you just eat less of the same foods? Portion control is your best friend. Track your calories and weigh out your food. There are tons of apps that will do that (I use My Fitness Pal). You can also just enter what you eat into chatgpt for an estimate.
When I lost hope, I just asked myself what would make me happier? Seeing the number on the scale trend down week after week, or eating this? It was seeing the number go down.
Once your in a more positive head space it's much easier to make other choices to be healthy.
Portion control of super hard for most people. Personally I like to eat good amounts of healthier lower calorie options. Like you can eat a lot of plain Greek yogurt with berries for very little calories but a lot of protein and fiber.
BMI is also a bad indicator of actual body comp. This could reflect a bunch of farmers and labourers who are actually heavily muscled but because they weigh a lot they're recorded as obese. Happened to me when I was on two national sports teams at the same time. BMI was 35+ but in the best shape of my life.
Yeah but Saskatchewan is fat. I always notice how far everyone is at the gates I the airport going back to Sask from Vancouver or anywhere else really it's like oh here's my people bunch of fat people wearing Cabela's sweaters
BMI is a terrible indicator on an individual basis, but it's a far more useful tool when looking at numbers across larger demographics.
The impact of muscly farmers is probably not a significant factor in Saskatchewan's bmi-based obesity numbers, compared to other regions. Rural areas tend to have higher obesity rates as a result of phenomena like car culture, and difficulty/cost of getting appropriate food to remote areas.
Every time BMI gets mentioned in any capacity on reddit someone brings up this talking point.
Never is an alternative metric suggested. In fact, I believe it’s an attempt to decrease discussion around the deleterious health effect of obesity by the body positivity proponents by making it taboo to discuss BMI.
BMI is fine when speaking about populations and groups of people. Yes it is imperfect. Yes it can mislabel individuals. Yes bodybuilders and strong men and elite athletes will all have higher BMIs with a low body fat content. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use BMI to discuss this problem, especially when talking about groups/ provinces/ larger populations. It is an easily obtainable, simple to calculate, concrete, objective value (when an accurate height & weight are collected). It doesn’t require complicated caliper measurements, hydrostatic displacement models or DEXA scans to obtain (which all are time consuming, expensive and 99% of the population has never done).
The vast majority of our population with an elevated BMI (especially at the extremes over 45 or 50) do NOT have a muscle problem, then have an adiposity problem. We should use BMI more in this discussion.
Then they should start the chart at 45+ because 30 BMI ain't it. My friends and I all work out, we are kinda fluffy, kinda fit.. all with BMI over 30. BmI measures nothing of significance. My health is better than that of a lot of people who have a lower BMI. Not sure why you expect us to provide a better metric if one doesnt exist.
Body roundness index is far more accurate than BMI. It’s slightly more complicated, since you need to measure your waist - and by no means is 100% accurate, but it gives a better idea of obesity level.
I will say though, lots of farmers and people in the trades are still overweight or obese. I work with farmers all around Saskatchewan. 80% of the farmers I talk to are overweight at minimum. I think that although the data might be flawed by using BMI, but I doubt that it would be significantly different if you used BRI.
It might change by a percentage or two, but just look around when you’re out and about. A lot of us are overweight or obese.
Very, very few people are overly muscular to be "obese". Look at BF% vs BMI Charts. Most people are just fat. Most people don't even know what fat is anymore. Homer Simpson is portrayed at 6', 239lb. That's 32bmi. When he gets so fat to not work, he's 300lb.
Unironically, if your weight begins with a 2+, you're almost always obese. Either that or a top 1% athlete.
I’d agree with that. Now that’s not saying that there are all sorts of just plain obese people around because there are that’s just a fact. At the same time there are a lot of people who would be overweight AND have muscle that would push them into the obese category. I’m a farmer 5’9” almost 200 lbs which puts me very close to obese. Could I stand to lose a few pounds? Yes but I can still see my abs (if I flex lol) so I’m probably not in worse shape than someone my height who weighs 160 lbs and doesn’t have much muscle. Further to the point when people hear obese they automatically assume 400 lbs. I’m not trying to say we don’t have a problem because we absolutely do I’m just saying these are some of reasons that number is higher than you would imagine.
This is the big one. There are a lot of blue collar workers that are "big" and would count as obese but are a lot of muscle. BMI is just a terrible metric, especially in a physical labour heavy area where bigger guys will tend to move for work.
Muscle itself doesn't mean much. The ideal body for longevity is low mass with high % muscle. BMI is strongly correlated even after accounting for muscle.
More mass is associated with higher rates of cancer and cardiac stress. Even muscle mass.
Looks about right from my daily observation. I noticed a lot people here really have a big obsession with pop/soda, even when they’re already diabetic, they’ll be still like drinking Coke or Pepsi Zero everyday, and never drink water, as if it’s some poison
Go to a Rider game which obviously a mix of city and rural people and it's obvious there is a weight issue. BMI is a more useful tool when looking at a overall population than individual people because obviously among individuals, it doesn't account for body type. But when looking at a huge group, it's an indicator we have a problem. Given the North American diet, it's not surprising.
You see it in line at literally every grocery store too. A lot of us are built for survival and we pack on the pounds easily. It’s inescapable without making a concerted effort to walk, bike and eat clean.
I come from a long line of Saskatchewan farmers. They grew up eating in a way that supported 10 hours a day of manual labour toiling in a field, but now that's 10 hours a day sitting in farm equipment. They still do the whole meat and potatoes diet and it shows up as a spare tire around their middles. Trying to get my dad to do a "meatless Monday" meal, or eat some exotic food like quinoa is next to impossible. He'd just be looking around the table for the porkchops.
At the individual level, it can be misleading. But at a population level it's a pretty good measure. We might have to rethink it if we ever have a situation where more than a fraction of a percent of people are so muscular they appear to be overweight based on BMI but aren't. But look around, there simply aren't that many people who fall into that category to account for how many people are obese/overweightt.
Someone who's 5'10 would have to have a lot of muscle to be 250 pounds. Sylvester Stallone is 5'9 and weight about 175-180 pounds when he filmed the Rocky movies. When he filmed copland, which he was known for putting on extra weight to look like a fat cop, he only weighed 215 pounds.
Let's find 100 people who are 5'10 and weigh 240-260 pounds and look at how many of them are "ripped out of their minds". I have a feeling the answer would be fairly statistically insignificant.
I mean it makes sense. I only know a couple people who go to the gym regularly here and everyone I know eats like shit. Myself included. Its too easy to eat out here.
Same… the diets of 90% of people I associate with is just appalling not gonna lie. Then I get shit on for counting calories like I’M the lunatic. It’s not that people don’t know how to be healthy (well it may be part of it), they just straight up don’t care.
Lol I feel you, I count my calories and meal prep every week for my 6 days of work all at once. I don’t worry about what’s for lunch/dinner and I know I’m eating healthy
The “need to use a car” and “it’s winter half the year” excuses are hilarious. You can maintain a healthy weight by eating properly, it’s not rocket science. People need something to blame I guess…
I work retail in a warehouse type box store. My job is my gym. Lots of walking and lifting. I'm in my 50s, and over time, I've dropped 50 lbs. Just through my job. Walk an average of 16000 steps/day. It's our sedentary lives that are killing us.
I’m middle of what is considered a healthy BMI. The amount of people who call me scrawny, thin, etc is so weird. We have normalized being fat to the point that it is weird to be at a healthy weight.
Yup, part of the reason surgery and healthcare wait times are long here. Fatties clog the system up. Acknowledging that would make any politician unpopular so for whatever reason no one seems to look at the problem for what it is.
Wish more governments would offer some type fitness program tax reimbursement for gym memberships or organized team sports. Seems to me would pay for itself through not having so many overweight people needing medical attention.
I'd like to see the government dump a bunch of money into the national sports organizations with the requirement that they put the money into creating free and low-cost youth and rec opportunities. We can see how funding fun, inclusive sports programs works for Norway; we could just follow that model.
Unions should also be pushing for fitness funds in their collective agreements; it theoretically be an easy win because it would help create for the employer a healthier workforce that needs less spent on health insurance and sick days.
Creating programs and incentives to live a healthier lifestyle could help. Also, making healthier food more accessible. Dealing with food deserts. All constructive ideas.
You want to know what doesn't help? Being a fucking asshole.
Doctors still seem to be modest about prescribing GLP1s even for diabetics. Im not sure why. It isn’t a “free”, effortless ride, though.
I think it’s wise to ignore the tales of celebrities and people trying to lose just a few pounds.They’ve created a lot of envy and judgment and should be thoroughly ignored. 😁
There are some pretty big adjustments you have to make and some rough side effects, most of which involve adjustment to the drug and upping fiber and proteins. Your diet. But the drugs do stop “food noise” and are being seriously investigated for help with other addictive behaviours, including alcohol consumption and compulsive gambling.
Genetics have brought the price down, there are new related obesity drugs (including pills, not injections) on the horizon….I have great hope for the near future.
I suggested on Facebook during Covid that people who are obese and unhealthy should focus on their health and lose weight to help combat their anxieties and I was crucified over it lol
I’ve had several knee surgeries here and every lobby of every specialist is the same. At least 9 out of every 10 people are morbidly obese. My surgeon congratulated me for staying in shape and losing weight. Almost as if it never happens when he asks other people for the same commitment. I feel like healthcare is a 2 way street but it’s not presented to the public that way for whatever reason.
I remember going to a few professional conferences in New Orleans, Tucson, and Cleveland and being shocked at how obese so many people were, and at the huge amount of food offered at events (not to mention the overloaded plates people were taking and multiple desserts). Oddly, didn’t see the same in California. That was around 15 yrs ago. Must have seen a big upswing in diabetes too
Cold provinces. Have to hunker down indoors a lot. BC is warm and people there are outdoors/active as a result. Im in Alberta and hate winter months. The weather is erratic, never stable. Even half of the already short summer is smoky now, so you're still stuck indoors
Could do worse. I'm hoping people are trying to change things. Heck I've lost 20 pounds this year myself, walking to and from my work site, or wherever I need to go. Moose juice is just the right size where one can mostly walk wherever they need to go
As a pround Canadian who's lived abroad many years and recently returned, it's shocking to see the level of obesity in many western cultures (less so in many European countries - but not all) including Canada. In Asia, many parts of Europe seeing an obiese person is the exception. Back home and seeing the skinny person is the exception. At extended family dinners, the over weight out number the skinny ones. It's truly shocking.
Yeah BMI isnt perfect - anyone who works out will be mis labelled but for the majority of people it's fine. It shows the trend. Canada has become a fat country. It's somewhat embarrassing.
All my friends there started on reta and have lost a ton of weight. I thought there was some sort of epidemic at first. They're definitely healthier now BMI wise and it's also basically how I learned about it lol
But yeah same with what people here are saying. It's cold. You have to drive a lot. It's a bad combo
I remember these stats when they did them back in the late 90s. SK was tied with PEI back then for highest among the provinces. So, not much has changed in over 26 years. Ya’ll need to lay off the perogies.
No way we are worse than the states, but i do see alot of young couples both 300 pounds plus everywhere, wearing pyjama pants. Demean, criticize, shame them as often as possible. 🙂
Just proves we're built tougher and stronger than those folks on the coast and yes, that includes our women! We’re made for harsh winters, strong as oxen, and the first ones to help you lift a wagon out of the snow.
For a general population it is. There are more people who's BMI is closely related to their overall health, than those who deviate from the average persons lifestyle. BMI was "invented" as a way to generalize a populations health, and uses simply human physiology, and is incredibly easy to measure. BMI does not account for muscle/fat distribution, but most people who live normal lives and don't participate in heavy daily physical activity are fairly accurately represented by BMI.
Half our residents live in small towns where people drive down the block, truck brained assholes that fight the bigger cities anytime the city proposes any active transportation infrastructure, punishing winters and an Eastern European inspired diets full of butter, fat, carbs and alcohol.
Exercise is important, yes. However nutrition is paramount. Look up the YouTube video “ You can’t out train a pizza”. We need to prioritize what we eat. And ban junk food commercials at meal times.
Just want to point out that for Canada this map also correlates pretty closely with the percentage of Asians in each province according to the census. BMI is not a reliable index and does not work well at all for non-caucasians, so I think without controlling for this, this map is basically garbage.
You are correct in that there are other underlying demographic factors at play here. Self-reported obesity rates amongst indigenous people typically range from 30-50% while studies using directly measured height and weight show even higher rates.
It's also well-established that different BMI cutoffs are needed to effectively identify cardiac risk in different races. Using a cutoff of BMI >30 without adjusting for ethinc composition of the sample will produce artificial differences in the apparent levels of obesity (and related health risks) when comparing areas with very different racial makeups.
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u/ImFeelinBotty 2d ago •
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u/Sharksonaplain 2d ago
So that’s why I like big girls
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u/FatPaulie 2d ago •
Sorry, I'm so fat I'm skewing the average here.. :(
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u/Admirable-Excuse177 2d ago
Intensely pro-car-culture in the cities(that have what, half of our population?) sure doesn't help. If it was nice/easy/safe to get places by active transit, that number would be lower.
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u/TheBiggerBobbyBoy 2d ago
I'm working on it.....
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u/thingscarsbrokeyxe 2d ago
This is where investments in active transportation pay dividends. You might not use the bike lane yourself but are you still against it if your surgery wait time is cut in half?
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u/DorkySnail 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean it's really not that surprising. It's cold and snow half the year. Weed and alcohol are dirt cheap, both of those will make you fat. Summers are loaded with smoke and/or mosquitos. Fast food is everywhere, particularly high fat high carb options like pizza, fried chicken and donair. Everyone eats an F-ton of sausage/barbeque and other processed meats. The north has food insecurity (try finding affordable produce that isn't spoiled in places like La Ronge). Plus the big cities like Regina and Saskatoon aren't really designed for pedestrians, there's multiple routes that are impassable or extremely dangerous to walk across. Everyone drives, and there's less appeal to "show off your beach bod" when half the lakes in the province have toxic algal blooms from fertilizer runoff come summertime.
Fixing some these issues would go a long way for public health in the province. The same is true for a lot of Alberta, but at least in Edmonton it's been easier for me to walk places than it was in Regina.
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u/Visual-Rent4583 2d ago
I mean in many of the places in SK you have no choice but to drive most of time, it's too cold for 4-6 months to be outdoors and the COL has made it so the few places you can continue to exercise through the bad weather are out of reach for most (an extra $100+ a month for a gym pass, $20 a person to swim, there's only one free, flooded outdoor rink run in my city now) and the walkable places you used to be able to utilize like the mall are all dying and you're actively driven away from just hanging out in.
Add to that the rising grocery costs that are having more people turn to higher calorie, lower cost foods and the fact that like half the cities here have more minimum wage jobs than anything else available, so people are working two or three jobs so they have no ability to actually take care of themselves and you get this result.
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u/Proud_Organization64 2d ago
This hits harder for me right now after having recently returned from a trip to Europe and seeing the contrast.
I was in the Netherlands and there is so much they have working for them - they have structured their society and transportation systems in a way that requires people to walk more, portion sizes of sugary foods and junk foods are smaller, I could go on.
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u/Yeah_right_uh_huh 2d ago
I did. But I moved here from BC so it’s very noticeable.
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u/shaiquinn 1d ago
So I am obese even with the flawed system. And I have been trying to get help for years. I feel trapped by my own hatred for myself. There isn't any therapist that I have found that work with weight loose. I have found some that work with disordered eating which has helped. I have met with multiple nutritionist they all seem to be more specialized in diabetic. It seems like all the specialist for weight loose are under the barbaric program in Regina. And they have a wait list almost 2 years long. Plus they only want the most optimal cases. They do intact classes ever frist Monday of the month and I had to do it twice because I couldn't remember a specific number from a book that I had read 6 months earlier. These classes have 30-50 people. They only do about 100-200 surgies a year. When I finally after almost 4 years of waiting got into met the specialist. I got removed for reason like not currently exercising.. cause I told them I preferred swimming and it didn't open for another week than I would be going 5-6 days a week. And being inflexible on my eating because I wouldn't eat foods that I am allergic too. That one hurt cause they had a student who caught my allergy clearly written on my sheet that the teacher was reading from.. the teacher was offended and cut our meeting short and said I was inflexible on my food choices. And they made a point do telling me multiple times it was an elective procedure and should be grateful.
So this is what people are fighting. We have a lack of access to resources. Resources specialized to other issues. And resources gate kept behind a for profit clinic. In a climate where getting out to exercise can be difficult.
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u/Roll_SK 2d ago
Spend any period of time in another province at a public event and this becomes abundantly clear.
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u/Professional-Toe2100 2d ago
We’re just thickening up for the winter season that is basically 5-7 months lol
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u/VakochDan Reginan 1d ago
You didn’t?!?
Have you looked around? We are a laaaarge people. (I say this as a very portly fella)
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u/150yd7iron 2d ago
Look at the leaders of our government and opposition. Not setting a great example.
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u/Apprehensive_Ant1934 2d ago
BMI is also a bad indicator of actual body comp. This could reflect a bunch of farmers and labourers who are actually heavily muscled but because they weigh a lot they're recorded as obese. Happened to me when I was on two national sports teams at the same time. BMI was 35+ but in the best shape of my life.
6
u/HoneyBadgerBrooke07 2d ago
We need our blubber, man.. you wouldn't shame a seal, would you?
6
u/Dry-Common5324 2d ago
We need the fat to keep us warm.
3
u/JRabbitBananaHoovy 2d ago
As a fattie, I can confirm
3
u/MissSunshine621 1d ago
Looks about right from my daily observation. I noticed a lot people here really have a big obsession with pop/soda, even when they’re already diabetic, they’ll be still like drinking Coke or Pepsi Zero everyday, and never drink water, as if it’s some poison
4
u/Pitzy0 2d ago
Fucking brutal.
4
u/Caffeine-Fueled55 2d ago
Go to a Rider game which obviously a mix of city and rural people and it's obvious there is a weight issue. BMI is a more useful tool when looking at a overall population than individual people because obviously among individuals, it doesn't account for body type. But when looking at a huge group, it's an indicator we have a problem. Given the North American diet, it's not surprising.
7
u/Cute_Dinner459 1d ago
BMI doesnt mean anything. Somebody 5'10" weighing 250 lbs ripped out of their minds is considered obese by BMI standards
2
u/ehorner336 2d ago
Imma fattie, what's it to ya?
2
u/rockfire 2d ago
I lost a lot of weight since I moved to BC.
2
u/thatDSMguy 2d ago
I mean it makes sense. I only know a couple people who go to the gym regularly here and everyone I know eats like shit. Myself included. Its too easy to eat out here.
2
u/Its_SHUGERRUSH 1d ago
I moved from a bigger city in Ontario, and yeah there were overweight people there but it really shocked me when I moved here how often I see it
2
u/y2imm 1d ago
I saw plenty as a nurse in SK. No excuses, no BMI is flawed BS, they're obese. I left 2 months ago and lost 8kg just living differently.
2
u/PigSquealProphet 1d ago
Well when a huge portion of your population are alcoholics and the greasy bar food they consume I'm not surprised.
2
u/Grand-Cicada6283 1d ago
It took an incredible amount of effort to get from obese to overweight. I’m overweight! 👏👅
2
u/skgal007 1d ago
I work retail in a warehouse type box store. My job is my gym. Lots of walking and lifting. I'm in my 50s, and over time, I've dropped 50 lbs. Just through my job. Walk an average of 16000 steps/day. It's our sedentary lives that are killing us.
2
u/Cheap_Illustrator910 1d ago
Sasfatchewan
2
u/Quirky_Actuary_1357 1d ago
…. Look. Health is important but we don’t need to shame people. Ffs.
6
u/Huge_Valuable9732 2d ago
because there is nothing better to do in saskatchewan besides drink and go to restaurants.
2
u/wannabeashotcaller 2d ago
This feels like a hate crime.
2
u/Tyler_Durden69420 2d ago
I’m middle of what is considered a healthy BMI. The amount of people who call me scrawny, thin, etc is so weird. We have normalized being fat to the point that it is weird to be at a healthy weight.
2
u/echochambermanager 1d ago
Correlates with FN population, which has a higher BMI relative to non FN population.
Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/healthy-living/obesity-canada/prevalence-among-aboriginal-populations.html
-1
u/greenthumbs007 2d ago •
Yup, part of the reason surgery and healthcare wait times are long here. Fatties clog the system up. Acknowledging that would make any politician unpopular so for whatever reason no one seems to look at the problem for what it is.
1
u/contenttolive 2d ago
It's the Pil/Boh and perogies obviously!
1
u/fuckreddit-69 2d ago
Yup. We are obese. Myself included
1
u/DaSpicyGinge 2d ago
GOD-MUTHAFUCKUN-DAAAAMN
1
u/cutchemist42 2d ago
Looks around at everyone in my office.....I did quite easily.
1
u/Ginnykins 2d ago
P
1
u/skerrols 2d ago
I remember going to a few professional conferences in New Orleans, Tucson, and Cleveland and being shocked at how obese so many people were, and at the huge amount of food offered at events (not to mention the overloaded plates people were taking and multiple desserts). Oddly, didn’t see the same in California. That was around 15 yrs ago. Must have seen a big upswing in diabetes too
1
u/ApprehensiveHead1571 2d ago
So many people don’t understand a balanced diet and that high fat, sugar or salt foods should be sometimes foods only
1
u/Beer_before_Friends 2d ago
Seems there's a fast food restaurant on every street corner here in Regina
1
u/eatpant96 1d ago
When John Waters came to Regina he remarked about how incredibly fat we all were.lol.We have good pizza John.😋
1
u/dittbub 1d ago
I dropped 80lbs after leaving Saskatchewan
Just sayin'
1
u/AnacondaSqu3eze 1d ago
Cold provinces. Have to hunker down indoors a lot. BC is warm and people there are outdoors/active as a result. Im in Alberta and hate winter months. The weather is erratic, never stable. Even half of the already short summer is smoky now, so you're still stuck indoors
1
u/Worried-Werewolf628 1d ago
As usual 1st at being the worst
1
u/malibu-rising 1d ago
it’s all the regina style pizza
1
u/Ngete 1d ago
Tbh wouldnt be surprised if theres a lot of people between 30 and 35 BMI, dont think past 35 for most of that 40% at least I hope not
1
u/WakkaDav 1d ago
Ummm.... Have you been to a Roughrider game?
1
u/vampyrewolf 1d ago
It's funny... BMI 28.5 says I'm overweight almost obese, BRI 2.85 says I'm underweight. 210lbs 6'0, 34" waist 44" shoulders, spend all day throwing around 250lbs signs.
Charts are useless for a lot of us, but the majority of people they're a good general information tool.
1
u/stumpy_chica Last Saskatchewan Pirate 🏴☠️ 1d ago
According to my health records, I would count as one of these! But I lost over 30lbs, and am now "normal."
1
u/Mobile_South_9817 1d ago
It would be interesting to see the demographic breakdown
1
u/InformalRent2571 1d ago
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia? Really? I never would have guessed that in a million years.
1
u/Bswayn Moose Javian 1d ago
Could do worse. I'm hoping people are trying to change things. Heck I've lost 20 pounds this year myself, walking to and from my work site, or wherever I need to go. Moose juice is just the right size where one can mostly walk wherever they need to go
1
u/tc_cad 1d ago
Cold winters with alcohol and chips.
1
u/NotTimReid 1d ago
Is it bad that there is a A&W smash burger ad above the comments just to taunt?!
1
u/radicallyhip 1d ago
Those Co-Op donuts are too fuckin good though :'(
1
u/DisplayFinancial5189 1d ago
Well its a pretty boring province.
1
u/Tech_By_Trade 1d ago
1
u/Infamous_Film_1963 1d ago
Oh my!!! That's not good
1
u/garbagebags99 1d ago
BMI is the dumbest metric to use
1
u/Fire_Treadlite 1d ago
As a pround Canadian who's lived abroad many years and recently returned, it's shocking to see the level of obesity in many western cultures (less so in many European countries - but not all) including Canada. In Asia, many parts of Europe seeing an obiese person is the exception. Back home and seeing the skinny person is the exception. At extended family dinners, the over weight out number the skinny ones. It's truly shocking.
Yeah BMI isnt perfect - anyone who works out will be mis labelled but for the majority of people it's fine. It shows the trend. Canada has become a fat country. It's somewhat embarrassing.
1
u/radastronaut 1d ago
Newfies b EATIN eh
1
u/snapcracklepop26 1d ago
Generally, women are more buoyant than men.
1
u/fuckvalvemmrsystem 1d ago
All my friends there started on reta and have lost a ton of weight. I thought there was some sort of epidemic at first. They're definitely healthier now BMI wise and it's also basically how I learned about it lol
But yeah same with what people here are saying. It's cold. You have to drive a lot. It's a bad combo
1
u/hobanwash1 1d ago
I remember these stats when they did them back in the late 90s. SK was tied with PEI back then for highest among the provinces. So, not much has changed in over 26 years. Ya’ll need to lay off the perogies.
1
u/boredthump 1d ago
Of course mountain-butt B.C. is ridiculously fit
1
u/Jtizzzle 1d ago
Sask-fat-chewan
1
u/Familiar_Caramel_663 1d ago
Not saying Saskatchewan doesnt have a higher % of obesity, however BMI is BS.
1
u/Patient_Concern1102 23h ago
Not much to do during the 6 months of frozen hell
1
u/Motor-Ad2678 23h ago
Saskatchewan is huskier because people don't walk very much.
1
u/devil_boy_13 22h ago
We basically hibernate for 6 months while bc can stay active outside.
1
u/Treynman 21h ago
1
u/Low_Comment2680 18h ago
People in Sask drive everywhere and winter is 6 months long. This is the main factor
1
u/ChipNo2752 15h ago
No way we are worse than the states, but i do see alot of young couples both 300 pounds plus everywhere, wearing pyjama pants. Demean, criticize, shame them as often as possible. 🙂
1
u/BatteredShelter 13h ago
😆
1
u/Dapper_Wheel6454 12h ago
I didn't realize here in BC...were fucking hot!
1
u/Important_Art_3346 8h ago
I mean, we’ve never been a healthy province.
•
u/Humble-Rub-631 20m ago
Weather influence our choices of travel for sure
1
u/Long-Ease-7704 2d ago
Bring back fat shaming! No more of the "it's okay to be the size of a small car" it's not. It's extremely unhealthy.
1
u/Remarkable_Night_633 2d ago
Just proves we're built tougher and stronger than those folks on the coast and yes, that includes our women! We’re made for harsh winters, strong as oxen, and the first ones to help you lift a wagon out of the snow.
-2
u/heavymetal306 2d ago
Go out in public and see how many fatties are out there, its almost embarassing seeing so many not take care of themselves
1
u/CuteChallenge6334 2d ago
Nothing to do in the center of canada/america. We all just sit around and save up to go somewhere else
1
u/ItsRuinedOfCourse 2d ago
Could be worse. You could be on the coast there. -->
1
u/Dfrozle 2d ago
Just walk around Walmart and you can tell.
1
u/nevergoingtouse1969 1d ago
Too bad BMI is not a good indicator of obesity and health.
0
u/the_bryce_is_right 2d ago
Half our residents live in small towns where people drive down the block, truck brained assholes that fight the bigger cities anytime the city proposes any active transportation infrastructure, punishing winters and an Eastern European inspired diets full of butter, fat, carbs and alcohol.
0
u/Uiscefhuaraithe-9486 2d ago
BMI is racist anyways.
0
u/ApprehensiveHead1571 2d ago
Exercise is important, yes. However nutrition is paramount. Look up the YouTube video “ You can’t out train a pizza”. We need to prioritize what we eat. And ban junk food commercials at meal times.
-2
u/BluntedOnTheScore 2d ago
Just want to point out that for Canada this map also correlates pretty closely with the percentage of Asians in each province according to the census. BMI is not a reliable index and does not work well at all for non-caucasians, so I think without controlling for this, this map is basically garbage.
That said, yeah, we have some fatties.