An increasing number of Canadians are obese or have chronic diseases, says a new report that gives Canada a "B" grade in overall health.
The Conference Board of Canada health report card, released Thursday, looked at 11 indicators including life expectancy, infant mortality and mortality caused by various diseases. It ranked Canada in the 10th spot out of 17 industrialized countries.
Japan, Switzerland and Italy took the top three spots, all with "A" grades.
"These top-performing countries achieve better outcomes by taking actions to influence and improve the broader determinants of health, such as environmental stewardship," said a news release issued by the Conference Board.
Meanwhile, Norway, Finland, Sweden, France, Australia and Germany all received "B" grades but an overall score higher than Canada.
"On the surface, this puts Canada in good standing, but the results also reveal a disturbing fact showing that relative to its peer countries, Canada's performance is weak on key indicators," it states. "Although Canada has no ‘D' grades, its ‘C's for mortality due to cancer, mortality due to diabetes, mortality due to musculoskeletal diseases, and infant mortality point to areas that require focus."
According to the report's data, Canada has the third-highest rate of mortality due to diabetes among the countries surveyed. It states the country has a health-care system encumbered by "wait times for some health care diagnostics and treatments, and management systems that don't focus enough on the quality of health outcomes."
Canada's 10th place performance represents a drop from 4th in the 1990s.
Despite the largely middling results, Canada did score well in areas of self-reported health status, circulatory disease deaths (mostly heart disease and stroke) and premature mortality, a measure that looks at the death of younger people compared to their older counterparts. But even in that category, Canada ranked only ninth among the 17 countries.
The report's authors say changes are needed in both the health-care system and in Canadians' lifestyles in order to counteract the burden of the country's aging population.
"The future health of Canadians depends not only on the quality of the health care system, but also on education about chronic disease risk factors and increased emphasis on prevention," Gabriela Prada, a director at the Conference Board, said in the statement.
The Conference Board report notes the analysis is focused on the health of Canadians, not an attempt to rate the health-care system in Canada. It is part of a multi-year research project looking at strengths and weakness across various aspects of Canadian society and economy.
