National Population Health Survey: Canadians and Healthy Eating - how
are we doing?
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Nutrition Highlights, National Population Health Survey, 1994 - 1995
Table of Contents
Reducing Dietary Fat
Who's concerned
Concern equals action
Increasing Starch and
Fibre Intake
Who's concerned?
Taking action on starch
and fibre
How Canadians Weigh
In
Who's trying to lose
weight?
How Canadians Rate Their
Eating Habits
Wrapping It Up
For more information
Data Sources
Healthy eating is well recognized as an important way of actively promoting
health. Healthy eating provides essential nutrients for proper growth
and development, and can help reduce the risk of developing a variety
of nutrition-related problems - including heart disease, cancer, obesity,
hypertension (high blood pressure), osteoporosis, anemia, dental decay
and some bowel disorders. Healthy eating also contributes to an overall
sense of wellbeing and helps people to look, feel and perform better.
Nutrition Recommendations, Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating,
and Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, introduced by Health
Canada in the early 1990s, form the basis of nationally recognized eating
messages and a wide range of nutrition initiatives across the country.
The Guidelines adapted the scientific Nutrition Recommendations
into consumer-friendly statements. Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating,
based on the Guidelines, gave consumers more detailed information
on establishing a healthy eating pattern through the daily selection of
food.
How have Canadians responded to these healthy eating messages since
they were first introduced? Are they aware of the key messages? Are they
taking steps to act on them? If yes, what steps are they taking?
To help find the answers, Health Canada included questions in a supplement
to the 1994-95 National Population Health Survey (NPHS) conducted by Statistics
Canada. A sample of 13 400 Canadians 12 years of age and over responded
to Health Canada's questions. Survey data were adjusted (weighted) prior
to analysis to represent close to 24 million people from across Canada's
10 provinces. All NPHS data are based on self-reported responses.
About the NPHS and nutrition:
The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) is a longitudinal survey
on the health of Canadians. Conducted by Statistics Canada, the survey
is designed to measure the health status of Canadians and to add to the
existing body of knowledge about the determinants of health. The NPHS,
which relies on respondents' selfreported health information, will survey
the same group of respondents every two years for up to 20 years.
A number of Health Canada's supplementary questions to the 1994-95 NPHS
related to nutrition. These questions focused on two key healthy eating
messages-increasing starch and fibre consumption, and decreasing fat consumption-as
well as on information about self-rated eating habits, selfreported height
and weight, and sources of nutrition information.
What is healthy eating?
Five key messages...
- Enjoy a variety of foods.
- Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruits.
- Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with
little or no fat.
- Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical
activity and healthy eating.
- Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine (Canada's
Guidelines for Healthy Eating).
Reducing Dietary Fat
Consumers across the country appear to be aware of the "choose lower-fat"
message. In fact, the results of the NPHS show that many people are concerned
about the fat in the food they eat and are taking steps to change their
eating habits.
Who's concerned
Over two thirds (68%) of Canadians over the age of 12 years say they
are concerned about the amount of fat in their food. Concern about fat
varies according to a number of factors, including sex, age and income.
For example:
- People aged 45 to 64 are more likely than those in any other age group
to be concerned about the amount of fat in the foods they eat, with
77% expressing concern. Interest among other adult age groups is also
substantial, ranging from 63% among 20 to 24-year-olds to 73% among
those 65 years and older. Almost one half (46%) of 12 to 19-year-olds
report concern about the fat in their diet.
- Fewer women and men who are underweight (i.e., those with a BMI of
less than 20 based on self-reported height and weight) report concern
about their fat intake (68% of women and 42% of men) compared to those
in other BMI categories.
- People who are overweight (BMI>27) are the most concerned (83%
of women, 69% of men) about dietary fat.
Concern equals action
Most people (86%) who express concern about the amount of fat in their
diet are doing something to reduce their fat consumption. Of those concerned,
more women (89%) than men (83%) report taking action to lower their dietary
fat intake.
Regardless of income level or where they live, Canadians who are concerned
about the amount of fat their diet report changing the way they eat. In
a similar vein, concerned Canadians of all weights are equally likely
to report taking action to reduce the amount of fat they consume.
The proportion of concerned Canadians taking steps to reduce the fat
the foods they eat steadily increases as age increases. While 86% of concerned
20 to 24-year-olds report taking action to reduce the fat in foods they
eat, more than nine out ten (92%) Canadians aged 65 and older report taking
some steps.
Body Mass Index (BMI):
Body Mass Index = weight (kg) / height (m)2.
BMI categories used in this report are:
- underweight (BMI<20.0);
- acceptable weight (BMI 20.0 to 24.9);
- possibly overweight (BMI 25.0 to 27.0) and overweight (BMI>27.0).
As BMI classification criteria do not apply to children, adolescents,
seniors, and women who are pregnant or lactating - these groups were excluded
from survey questions related to BMI.
"Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared
with little or no fat." -Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating
What people are doing:
More than half of all concerned Canadians say they are taking six or
more of the following steps to reduce the amount of fat in their food:
Most frequently mentioned...
- using less butter, oil, salad dressing - 81%
- eating less fried or deep-fried foods - 80%
- eating leaner meats, poultry, fish - 79%
- using fewer high-fat milk products - 71%
- using more low-fat milk products - 67%
- eating fewer snacks such as chips and chocolate bars - 64%
- choosing lower-fat content foods - 61%
- baking, broiling or microwaving foods - 60%
Less frequently mentioned...
- cutting down on nuts and seeds - 34%
- using meat alternatives - 28%
What people said:
Many Canadians believe that lower-fat foods:
- are readily available 79%;
- are easy to prepare 65%;
- taste good 57%;
In addition, 64% say that food labels show the amount of fat content.
Relatively few people (36%) believe that lower-fat foods are expensive.
Who's concerned about fat?
Increasing Starch and Fibre Intake
Emphasizing cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruits
is a practical way for Canadians to increase the carbohydrates (starch)
and fibre in the foods they eat. NPHS results suggest that the message
to emphasize these foods is being heard and acted upon by many Canadians.
"Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables
and fruits." -Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating
Who's concerned?
Almost half (44%) of Canadians say they are concerned about getting enough
starch and fibre in their diet. More precisely:
- Over one half of Canadians aged 65 and older are concerned about getting
enough starch and fibre in their diet (55%) compared to only 36% of
their counterparts in the 20 to 24-year-age group.
- The youngest age groups surveyed appear to be the least concerned
about getting enough starch and fibre with 25% of 12 to 19-year-olds
saying they are concerned.
Taking action on starch and fibre
Three out of five Canadians (60%) who say they are concerned about the
amount of starch and fibre in their diet are doing something about it.
Of those concerned:
- 64% in the highest income category are taking action to increase the
amount of starch and fibre in their diet, compared to 54% in the lowest
income category.
- More women (64%) than men (54%) are taking steps to increase starch
and fibre intake.
- Action to increase starch and fibre increases with age among adults
(from 59% among 20 to 24-year-olds, to 65% for those aged 45 to 64),
although action falls off slightly (57%) among seniors aged 65+.
- Adolescents are the least likely of all age groups to increase starch
and fibre, with 40% of those concerned taking action.
Getting more starch and fibre:
View
the table that illustrates the most
frequently reported steps to increase starch and fibre intake (among those
concerned).
Where do people get nutrition information?
It appears from the results of the 1994-95 NPHS that many Canadians are
hearing nutrition messages about healthy eating. But where are they getting
their information?
Who's concerned about starch and fibre?
How Canadians Weigh In
Self-reported height and weight collected in the NPHS was used to calculate
Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is widely accepted as a simple and fairly accurate
way to assess body weight from the viewpoint of potential health risks.
A full 30% of Canadians between the ages of 20 and 64 are overweight.
Whereas 20% of men aged 20 to 24 are in the overweight category, this
proportion increases to 43% for men aged 55 to 64. A similar trend is
found among women - only 17% of women aged 20 to 24 are "overweight,"
compared to 35% of those aged 55 to 64.
On a more positive note, a smaller proportion of Canadians, particularly
women, are in the underweight category than was the case in 1990. The
proportion of women categorized as "underweight" has dropped from
18% in 1990 to 12% in 1994/95.
Who's trying to lose weight?
Two out of five women (40%) and nearly one quarter of men (23%) were
trying to lose weight in 1994/95. Efforts to lose weight start young -
among 12 to 14-year-olds, 27% of girls and 14% of boys report trying to
lose weight. Who else is trying to lose weight?
- 70% of overweight women, and 48% of overweight men are trying to lose
weight.
- Generally, more women than men in all weight categories, including
63% of possibly overweight women compared to 26% of possibly overweight
men are trying to lose weight.
- Even people who are an acceptable weight are trying to lose - including
37% of women in this category, compared to only 8% of men who are an
acceptable weight.
Weighing in - 1990 to 1994/95:
*1990 data are from Health Canada's Health Promotion Survey 1990: technical
report, which defines acceptable weight as 20.0-25.0 and possibly overweight
as 25.1-27.0.
Women and men - tipping the scales:
How Canadians Rate Their Eating Habits
The 1994-95 NPHS asked Canadians of all ages to rate their eating habits.
Almost half of Canadians (46%) say that their eating habits are "excellent''
or "very good.'' How people rate their eating habits seemed to be related
to age and income. For instance:
- While 36% of young adults between the ages of 20 and 24 report having
"excellent" or "very good" eating habits, the proportion rises
to 58% of adults aged 65+.
- Fewer people in the highest income category (14%) rate their eating
as "fair" or "poor" than those in the lowest income category
(21%).
With respect to reducing dietary fat, and increasing starch and fibre
consumption, survey results show that:
- 72% of Canadians who rate their eating habits as "excellent"or
"very good" are concerned about the amount of fat in their
food - of these, 90% are taking steps to reduce the amount of fat in
the food they eat.
- 59% of those who rate their eating habits as "fair"or "poor"are
concerned about dietary fat - with 77% taking action to reduce fat consumption.
- Close to one half (48%) of Canadians who rate their eating habits
as "excellent" or "very good"express concern about
the amount of starch and fibre in their diet - compared to just over
a third (35%) of those who rate their eating as either "fair"
or "poor."
- As with fat, more people who rate their eating habits as "excellent"
or "very good" are also taking steps to increase the amount
of starch and fibre in the foods they eat (62%, compared to 56% of those
who rate their eating habits as "fair" or "poor").
Income and self-rated eating habits:
Wrapping It Up
In general, Canadians' eating habits are moving in the direction of current
recommendations. Healthy eating messages are reaching many consumers who
are taking a number of steps consistent with them.
These results seem to indicate that not only do people understand healthy
eating messages, they also take solid action to change eating behaviours
and habits. Clearly, there is a need to continue efforts to reach more
Canadians. In particular, messages aimed at increasing starch and fibre
intake as part of a healthy eating pattern need to be more broadly promoted.
It is also important to provide meaningful direction to help more consumers,
especially men, take steps to lower their fat intake. The continued prevalence
of overweight also requires attention.
Concern and action - fat, starch, and fibre:
For more information ...
The analysis done to date is only start. Because of the large sample
size, the NPHS offers a rich source of data that could be explored in
sub-samples of the population (such as youth, women, income groups), and/or
cross-analyzed in ways to broaden our understanding of consumers. Further
analysis and synthesis of the NPHS data is encouraged. Data access has
been facilitated by the recent Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) which
makes the microdata file for the 1994-95 NPHS supplementary questions
available free of charge to all universities and university-affiliated
health promotion centres with a membership in the DLI. For more information,
contact the university library or the Data Liberation Initiative, Statistics
Canada, (613) 951-5904. Other sectors interested in accessing NPHS data
can contact Statistics Canada by calling (613) 951-1653.
Data sources
- Health and Welfare Canada. Nutrition Recommendations...A Call for
Action Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1991.
- Health and Welfare Canada, Stephens T., Fowler Graham D., editors.
Canada's Health Promotion Survey 1990: technical report Ottawa:
Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1993.
- Health Canada. Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating Ottawa:
Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1992.
- Health Canada. Report on the 1994-1995 National Population Health
Survey: Nutrition Component, Unpublished report prepared by for
the Nutrition Programs Unit, 1996.
- In addition, some data were from special runs of the NPHS nutrition
data.
Published by authority of the Minister of Health.
Également disponible en français sous
le titre Les habitudes alimentaires au Canada - Où en sommes-nous
© Minister of Public Works and
Government Services Canada, 1997
Cat. No. H49-107/1997E
ISBN: 0-662-25657-3
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