Overweight and obesity in preschool children in Newfoundland and Labrador

The rates of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity are high and rising throughout the developed world. [...] Canada has also reported that among school- aged children, rates of overweight and obesity combined have increased from 15.0% in both boys and girls in 1981, to 35.4% and 29.2% in 1996, respectively.9 Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest overall provincial rate of adult overweight and obesity at 39.0%, compared to the national average of 29.4%.10. [...] Consistent with the prevalence of overweight and obesity, this Province has the highest provincial rate of type 2 diabetes11 and the highest mortality rate in the country due to cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.12. [...] Thus Newfoundland and Labrador children and adolescents are at greater risk of developing overweight and obesity and the associated short- and long- term health problems, than are children in the other Canadian provinces. [...] Although the CDC prefers the terms “at risk for overweight” and “overweight”, for the purposes of clarity and comparison, the terms “overweight” and “obese” are used in this study.