Nutrition, Physical Activity and Healthy Weights - Statistics in Niagara
Nutrition, physical activity and being a healthy weight are all important to preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancers.
In Niagara, 62.2 per cent of residents 12 and older rate their general health as very good or excellent. Youth aged 12 to 19 are more likely to rate their health very good or excellent, with 80.6 per cent reporting very good or excellent health, while only 45.7 per cent of those 65 and over report this.
Nutrition
Good nutrition is important to achieve throughout life. Overall, 25.1 per cent of Niagara residents aged 12 and older report consuming five or more fruits and vegetables each day. In addition, 9.5 per cent of adults (18 and older) report drinking pop once a day or more. Males tend to drink more pop than females.
When looking at students in Niagara schools, 17.4 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 26.1 per cent of secondary students report drinking five or more sugar-sweetened beverages in the past seven days. In addition, only 16 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 5.4 per cent of secondary students had six or more servings of vegetables or fruits every day.
Finally, only 61.5 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 43.9 per cent of secondary students had breakfast all five school days in the past week.
Physical Activity
In addition to nutrition, it's important to be physically active. In Niagara, 57.5 per cent of residents aged 12 and older report being active or moderately active during their leisure time.
When looking at students in Niagara schools, 29.4 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 18.8 per cent of secondary students walk or bike to school. In addition, 59.4 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 46.3 per cent of secondary students meet the Canadian guidelines for physical activity, with at least 60 minutes of activity per day.
Healthy Weights
In Niagara, 34.8 per cent of residents 18 and over are overweight, while 29.8 per cent are obese. In addition, 23.6 per cent of grade seven and eight students and 27.5 per cent of secondary students are overweight or obese.
Pregnancy and Healthy Weights
See maternal characteristics statistics for information on healthy weights during pregnancy.
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