Health Risk Factors

Topic Box from the 2009 Ninth Annual Benchmark Report

Health Risk Factors

Cancer and heart disease remain the biggest killers in Canada overall and in British Columbia. In 2005, cancer was responsible for 28.3 percent and heart disease 22.4 percent of all deaths in BC. Together they accounted for half of all deaths in BC in 2005. Both share common risk factors – obesity, inactivity, poor eating habits, and tobacco use. These health risk factors are common, but are controllable through changes in habits and lifestyle.

Obesity, Poor Eating Habits and Inactivity

The International Agency for Research on Cancer attributes one-quarter to one-third of all breast, colon, oesophagus, kidney and uterus cancers to excess body weight and inactivity. As well, those who are overweight are at higher risk of high blood pressure, high blood lipids and diabetes, putting them at a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

In 2005, 53 percent of Canadians 12 or older still did not get their recommended intake of fruit and vegetables, 47 percent were physically inactive and 29 percent of youths and 59 percent of adults were either overweight or obese.

Smoking, Tobacco use and Exposure to Tobacco

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, heart disease rates are 70 percent higher for smokers than non-smokers. Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable illness in Canada, accounting for 30 percent of cancer deaths, even though the percentage of smokers in Canada has been on the decline since 1965. However, 22 percent of Canadians aged 12 or more were smokers in 2005, 24 percent of men and 20 percent of women.

BC and the Health Risk Factors

British Columbia currently ranks low among all the provinces in occurrence and prevalence of health risks. British Columbia had the lowest overweight proportion of adults in Canada. BC also had the lowest rate for those 12 and over who were physically inactive in 2005 at 40.1 percent vs. the Canadian average of 46.7 percent. British Columbia had the lowest proportion of those 12 and over that were current smokers of all Canadian provinces in 2005, at 17.8 percent.

British Columbia ranks well relative to other provinces, but these risks still affect health in BC. Policies and programs can help inform people and encourage healthy lifestyles. These policies and programs recognize the correlation between smoking, exposure to tobacco, obesity, poor eating habits, and physical inactivity, and cancer and heart disease. However, the onus is on individuals to actually make the changes.

Sources: BC Stats; BC Vital Statistics Agency; Canadian Cancer Society / National Cancer Institute of Canada; Statistics Canada; Heart and Stroke Foundation; Health Canada.