Share of Canadian aboriginals who were overweight 2007-2014, by aboriginal identity

* The terms "First Nations" and "North American Indian" can be interchanged. The term "First Nations" refers to the First Nations population living off reserve.


Body mass index (BMI) is a method of classifying body weight according to health risk. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada guidelines, health risk levels are associated with each of the following BMI categories: normal weight = least health risk; underweight and overweight = increased health risk; obese, class I = high health risk; obese, class II = very high health risk; obese, class III = extremely high health risk.
Body mass index (BMI) is calculated by dividing the respondent's body weight (in kilograms) by their height (in metres) squared.
A definition change was implemented in 2004 to conform with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada guidelines for body weight classification. The index is calculated for the population aged 18 and over, excluding pregnant females and persons less than 3 feet (0.914 metres) tall or greater than 6 feet 11 inches (2.108 metres).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada guidelines, the index for body weight classification is: less than 18.50(underweight); 18.50 to 24.99 (normal weight); 25.00 to 29.99 (overweight); 30.00 to 34.99 (obese, class I); 35.00 to 39.99 (obese, class II); 40.00 or greater (obese, class III). Adapted from Statistics Canada, 5.statcan.gc.ca, 2007 to 2014. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.