Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for being with us today. I'm fascinated by what you've told us. I am aware there is a problem. I myself am obese. I realize that this is a much more complex issue and that it has much deeper roots than we are aware of. I am a mother and grandmother. Eating habits and recreational activity have changed enormously over the last 30 years, but at the same time, I think we're mistaken if we don't acknowledge that we're dealing with an obesity problem. If we don't do that, we will not go to the root of the problem. We tend to think we shouldn't victimize people who are affected by this or use the word “obesity”, but if we don't tell the truth, we will never solve the real problem.
We began to resolve the problem posed by smoking when we dared to actually say that it was dangerous, that it was harmful to a person's health and that it could cause cancer. But that didn't happen immediately; it took years. We began to resolve the problem once we were prepared to face it head on. But we refuse to face up to the problem of obesity by constantly going around it, thinking that with campaigns like ParticipACTION and others, we will ensure that young people don't experience this problem that we ourselves caused. Rather than giving them love and attention, we gave them food, or money to go and eat at McDonald's or buy a big bag of popcorn at the movies.
If we're not honest, and if we're not frank with our own children and with the parents, the problem will never go away. I think the first awareness campaign should be aimed at parents, to inform them of the repercussions and negative effects of obesity on their children. Our children will die younger than us if we don't put a stop to the problem immediately.
Personally, I've always been very active. I am a large woman in good physical condition, but I still have problems. If I'm not careful, my children will have serious health issues that could be very costly for our health care system.
That is my own view, and I would be interested in hearing what you think.