Obesity and inequality growing concern in Canada

Canadians are getting fatter and more of them are declaring bankruptcy, while students still have trouble getting jobs.

These are the main points of a report called Canada’s Vital Signs 2011.

The report is prepared by foundations that link donors with charities.  It is designed to help policy makers focus where the money should be spent.

Other facts in the report: 

• One in four Canadian adults is obese. One child out of 11 is obese. The numbers keep going up despite efforts to contain them.
• The youth unemployment rate is double that for adults. Yet the ratio is not as bad as in many other western countries.
• Overall there was growth in jobs, but it was uneven across the country.
• Personal bankruptcies have gone up by 23% since 2000, while business bankruptcies have declined by almost 60%.
• More than one in seven children live in poverty.
• Nearly 80% of Canadians have a high school diploma.
• Voter turnout in May 2011 was over 60% up from the previous federal election.
• More Canadians are composting kitchen waste.
• Fewer Canadians are facing criminal traffic violations such as drunk driving.

Community Foundations of Canada concluded that the economic recovery has led to widespread and growing inequities across the country – between rural and urban, rich and poor, young and old, educated and uneducated.  And while all signs indicate that Canada is weathering the economic storm aptly, it is doing so in an uneven manner across the country.

The you can find the full report is at http://www.vitalsignscanada.ca/nr-2011-research-findings-e.html