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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
NWT adults are statistically some of most overweight people in the country, representatives from aboriginal communities and the territorial government were told during a conference on obesity held in Dettah, June 29.

A 2009 survey found the NWT has the third highest obesity rate in the country, with 62.8 per cent of residents 18 years and older reported as obese or overweight compared to a national average of 51.6 per cent - Ian Vaydik/NNSL photo

According to a Canadian Community Health Survey from 2009, 62.8 per cent of NWT residents age 18 years or over are obese or overweight, compared to the Canadian average of 51.6 per cent.

The NWT recorded the third highest obesity rate in Canada that year, according to the survey.

The highest rate was recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador, where an average 64.6 per cent of the population were reportedly obese or overweight.

The lowest rate was in British Columbia, with an average of 45.1 per cent.

The same survey also found that six per cent of Northern residents reported to be suffering from diabetes; the national average is 5.2 per cent.

Dettah Chief Ed Sangris said the problem begins in childhood.

"We all grow up in front of the TV, and we have to do our part to promote a healthy active lifestyle and help our people," Sangris said, as he addressed participants at the conference, called Our Health, Our Future: A National Dialogue on Healthy Weights.

Dr. Lorne Clearsky, chief public health officer for the NWT, said one element that contributes to the climbing statistic of childhood obesity in the North is a lack of access to fruits and vegetables in remote communities.

"People will come up to me and say 'Dr. Clearsky, it's -50 outside. I have three kids and if I don't make it to the Northern store before it closes, there is no way (to get healthy foods). I can't do it,'" he said.

"One thing I have noticed as I have travelled around communities in the territories is how schools and other environments will put out doughnuts and cookies for snacks, but now I see that fruits and vegetables are also available during those times, and that is encouraging," he added.

"The North also needs proper recreational facilities like gyms and playgrounds that aren't full of rocks so that children can be active and enjoy playing outside.

"There is also the issue of marketing; we are bombarded with images in the media and we need a change in policy when it comes to marketing (of nutritious foods).

"We blame the victim in this issue (the child or person) when the system is partially to blame for health problems," the doctor said.

"We need to ask ourselves, in the end, what can we do (as a community) to support better behaviour toward food?"

Principal Lea Lamoureux of Kaw Tay Whee School in Dettah said, "It's all in the spin" when it comes to promoting nutritious foods in school.

"You can sell anything to kids if you make it fun and exciting - and that includes good food," Lamoureux said.

"We try to sneak new healthy foods into the school all the time, and once one kid tries it, he or she will share it with her friends.

"We had great success with avocado - initially nobody would try the 'ugly green avocado' but we had a few brave eaters try it, and they told the other kids. Now a lot more people in the school like it."

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