-- OTTAWA -- Health Canada will delay regulation of trans fats in Canadian food products for at least two years, calling instead for industry to voluntarily limit use of the heart-clogging compounds.Our over-burdened health care system is already struggling under the weight of an epidemic of complications from obesity. It's becoming a problem among small children.
Critics blame the delay on opposition from the U.S. government, whose food industry would face complications exporting to Canada if Ottawa introduced binding limits.
This problem needed a strong, decisive hand... and obviously Tony Clement is not that guy.
Bill Jeffery, national co-ordinator of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, which monitors food health issues, said he was disappointed in the government's decision.Next time you're out and about... take a minute to survey the folk around you and note what percentage of them are obese.
Mr. Jeffery cited estimates that trans fats cause 2,000 heart attacks in Canada annually, suggesting that the delay in regulations could cause many deaths.
It's scary.
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UPDATE: Universal disagreement in the comments
Trust me... this is an issue that will end up costing all of us.
A study last year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that the number of morbidly obese people in Canada has quadrupled since 1985, while the number of obese Canadians has doubled and those deemed to be overweight has increased 20 per cent.
According to Statistics Canada, close to 39 per cent of adult Canadians were of normal weight in 2005. Almost 35 per cent of adults were overweight and more than 24 per cent were considered obese.
More than 14 million adults in this country were either overweight or obese.
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