Body weight

Background and Objective
Over the past few years, excess weight has become one of the most troubling public health problems. Globally, organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have described the current situation as epidemic. Factors that can explain this trend are linked to complex interactions between individual characteristics and environmental aspects. The built environment and the services environment are elements that can influence individuals' behaviours, lifestyle habits and body weight. The main objective of this document is to analyze and present various indicators of the built environment and of the services environment. These indicators are constructed from a geographic information system and used in ecological studies that look at issues related to diet, physical activity and body weight.

Methods
We conducted a literature review of 56 studies, published between 2003 and 2009, using indicators develo…

The survey was conducted during the summer of 2003 using a representative sample of residents aged 12 and older from the nine communities in Iiyiyiu Aschii: Chisasibi, Eastmain, Mistissini, Nemaska, Oujé- Bougoumou, Waskaganish, Waswanipi, Wemindji, and Whapmagoostui.

Food habits

• There is a relatively low proportion (21%) of residents 12 and over who eat fruits and vegetables at least 5 times a day, compared to 51% for the rest of Quebec. Furthermore, the consumption of fruits and vegetables decreases with age, among both men and women.
• A rather high percentage of adults (18 and over) reported selecting or avoiding specific foods based on health concerns or nutritional value.
• Furthermore, as noted among other populations, dietary choices tend to be based primarily on health concerns as Iiyiyiu Aschii residents get older.
• A great many people were concerned with losing weight.
• Slightly more than a quarter of the Iiyiyiu As…

Physical activity

The physical demands associated with daily activity have decreased considerably during the 20th century, particularly in industrialized countries, and Aboriginal populations living in these regions have not been spared from this phenomenon. Thus, as is the case for the rest of the population, leisure time physical activity has become an important avenue for maintaining a desirable level of physical activity.

The vast majority of the Nunavik population, especially women, is sedentary during their free time, and this is true regardless of age for both genders (15-17 years: 59% and 18 years and over: 69%). Less than one person in seven (14%) among those aged 15 to 17 years, and one out of five (18%) among people aged 18 years and over, achieve the recommended level of physical activity through leisure time physical activity. This situation, in large part associated with the significant cultural and climatic differences between this pop…

No nation today is immune from the obesity epidemic. Developing an action plan, a national strategy, policies and programs to manage the epidemic and prevent its progression is a major concern worldwide. While a number of World Health Organisation (WHO) reports published over the past few decades helped prompt member States to coordinate nutrition plans, the WHO’s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health released in 2004 strengthens government action on obesity. Governmental action on obesity and/or its main determinants, nutrition and exercise is very broad in scope, has several targets for action, involves many actors and is outlined in large reports.

At the 2006 Québec Annual Public Health Conference (Journées annuelles de santé publique or JASP), held in Montréal, Québec, Canada, a symposium focuses on the elements included in an effective obesity-prevention government plan. Plans, programs, strategies and policies adopted in over a dozen Western countries a…