Utilization of health care resources by obese Canadians. Can Med Assoc

Background: The prevalence of obesity in Canada has been increasing in recent years. Using data from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), the au-thors determined the prevalence of obesity among Canadians, the associated comorbidities and the patterns of resource utilization by obese people. Methods: The NPHS, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 1994, was adminis-tered to 17 626 Canadians 12 years of age or older who were not long-term res-idents of hospitals or long-term care facilities and were not residing on First Na-tions reserves or Canadian Armed Forces bases, or in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. For the authors ’ analysis, the study population consisted of 12 318 Canadians aged 20–64 years who were not pregnant and for whom the body mass index (BMI) had been calculated. The prevalence of comorbidities, health status index scores, self-esteem, self-rated health, restriction of activity, health care resource utilization (physician visits, disability days, admissions to hospital and medication use) were determined for obese people (BMI of 27 or greater