Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for appearing before the committee. I'm pleased to see representatives of both the Department of Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada. That doesn't happen very often. I will be asking you questions which will certainly be more interesting for you.
Mr. Taylor, you mentioned that there are fewer problems with obesity among the middle class and the affluent than among those struggling with poverty. Personally, I think that all young people have problems with obesity, regardless of their social class. We are seeing that obesity problem among boys but it is also very important not to forget that there is also problem with anorexia among girls, on the one part, as well as extreme thinness among young girls.
We are very familiar with the effects of obesity, but as we've been saying for some time now, we don't understand all its causes. Perhaps we should examine the relevance of informing people on the effects rather than trying to make them understand the causes. The effects are known. For instance, in the case of cigarettes, we have explained that it can cause lung cancer, among other things. That way, people understood much more quickly. We point out that cigarettes can perhaps cause erectile dysfunction and of course that makes people think.
Therefore, I'm wondering whether it wouldn't be preferable to opt for a public awareness campaign, providing information and education and targeting parents first and foremost. Regardless of their budget, they are the ones who are usually responsible for buying food for their children. Has such an initiative been considered? Maybe it could help people understand better the importance of healthy nutrition. Pointing out the number of calories in such and such a food is not sufficient, in my opinion.