John Elflein
Research expert covering health and health care
Obesity in Canada - Statistics & Facts
In 2023, around 35.5 percent of Canadian adults were overweight, while 30 percent were obese. Rates of obesity in Canada have steadily increased in recent years making obesity one of the country’s biggest health problems. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing a number of serious health conditions including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. In addition, the financial cost to a country of having a large overweight or obese population can be substantial. For example, one study estimated that the annual productivity cost from disability due to obesity in Canada was 11.8 billion Canadian dollars in 2019.
How many people are overweight or obese in Canada?
In 2023, there were over 10.6 million people in Canada who were overweight and nine million who were obese. Men in Canada are much more likely than women to be overweight, however, rates of obesity are similar for both men and women. In 2023, six million men in Canada were considered overweight, while 4.5 million were obese. Those aged 50 to 64 years have the highest rates of obesity among all age groups in Canada, while younger people aged 18 to 34 years report the lowest rates of being overweight and obese. Although genetic factors can influence body weight and older adults can be more susceptible to obesity, obesity is most often simply caused by eating too many calories and not exercising enough.Regional differences
Even though obesity is an increasing problem across Canada, there are significant regional differences in how obese the population is. The Canadian provinces with the highest prevalence rates of obesity are New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, while Quebec and British Columbia have the lowest rates. In 2023, around 41 percent of the population of New Brunswick was thought to be obese, compared to 24 percent of people in British Columbia. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are also the provinces with the highest percentage of adolescents who are overweight or obese. In total, around 30 percent of adolescents in Canada were estimated to be overweight or obese in 2022.
