Adult obesity prevalence in Canada and the United States

Key findings Data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2007–2009; the Canadian Heart Health Surveys, 1986–1992; and the U. S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994 and 2007–2008 •. The prevalence of obesity among adults in Canada is lower than it is in the United States. [...] When comparisons were restricted to the non-Hispanic white population in each country, differences in obesity estimates were somewhat attenuated but the overall prevalence of obesity remained significantly lower in Canada than in the United States among both men and women (Figure 2). [...] Among the heaviest (class III obesity), however, the prevalence was more similar in the two countries (3.5% in Canada and about 5% in the United States).■  2  ■ NCHS Data Brief ■ No. [...] In the United States, the majority of the nonwhite population is black or Hispanic for whom the prevalence of obesity is higher than it is for the white population (3). [...] In both countries the prevalence of obesity rose significantly since these earlier surveys, and the magnitude of the increases were fairly similar in the two countries.