Chronic disease in Ontario and Canada

The views, opinions and policies expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of the organizations that they are affiliated with nor the Public Health Agency of Canada or the Ontario Public Health Association. [...] The purpose of the report is multi-dimensional: • A primary goal is to draw links between evidence, determinants, and risk factors of chronic disease in Canada, and consider options for health messages and action steps. [...] This provides a resource for closing the disjunction between the “informally approved” and “popular” risk factors in many Canadian initiatives, and the more comprehensive approach to risk factors highlighted in the global burden of disease analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) ( ). [...] While the causes of particular cases of chronic disease in individuals can be assessed in the clinical context – and are often linked to behavioural factors – the causes of incidence in the population at large may be different. [...] The research methodologies for studying the role of distal factors have been less consistent and less sophisticated (because of the difficulties in the application of “gold standard” research methodologies), and thus have not allowed for the evidence of these factors to be as strong as those considered proximal.