Good morning, Madam Chair, vice-chairs, and members of the committee. It's our pleasure to appear before you today to help you with this important work.
Rising rates of obesity, as this committee is very well aware, are among the most important public health problems we currently face. Childhood obesity is an especially important issue, as it brings with it a number of risks both in childhood and in later life.
Our current work is on the issue of obesity among aboriginal children. As the committee is also aware, aboriginal children face rates of obesity that are substantially higher than, perhaps more than twice as high as, those of other Canadian children. Unfortunately, we can't offer more precise estimates of those rates, because there is no national-level surveillance system in place to monitor health outcomes among aboriginal children. There is enough evidence to conclude that aboriginal children, regardless of their place of residence or ancestry, are more likely to be obese and are at much higher risk of experiencing the negative consequences of obesity.
Childhood obesity is a potentially major contributor to the health equity gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians. This gap in health and health-related quality of life may widen as the current generations of aboriginal children grow into adolescence and adulthood. Moreover, 30% of the aboriginal population is under 15, so reducing the gap in inequality and improving the health of aboriginal populations therefore requires a focus on child health.
Of course, we understand that the committee is likely most interested in understanding what strategies have proven effective in addressing obesity among children, and among aboriginal children in particular. Unfortunately, the current research evidence is unclear on that point. Recently, our colleagues from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine systematically reviewed the literature and found little consensus about what works with regard to reducing obesity among aboriginal children. It seems as though what works depends very largely on the social context.
Currently we have funding from the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to try to understand obesity among aboriginal children. We are working with the Métis Nation of Ontario and other partners. This research will investigate the effects of key determinants of child obesity at the child, family, and community levels. Our research program is focused on Métis and off-reserve first nations children. At present, more than half of aboriginal children live in urban areas, a population that is rapidly growing.
Although these projects are ongoing, we do have some preliminary results. Both qualitative focus groups with parents and analysis of Statistics Canada data indicate that family income is a key determinant of childhood obesity. However, there's also evidence that many of the social determinants that affect aboriginal children's health may be different from those that operate in the general Canadian population, reflecting cultural and historical differences. For example, controlling for family income and other factors, we found some evidence that children whose parents attended residential schools may be at higher risk for obesity than other aboriginal children.
It also appears that aboriginal children and families living in urban and other non-reserve areas may be more likely to live in neighbourhoods or communities that are underserved in terms of opportunities for physical activity or access to affordable healthy food. We're presently working on modelling the effects of neighbourhood characteristics, including the availability of fresh foods and proximity to recreation spaces.