Just as I am trying to get fitter an article comes out like this one in the Star Phoenix that makes me happy I am making the choice to move in the right direction. The results are astounding! Sixty percent of Canadian adults are overweight with 24 percent of people(1 in 4) being obese. I am curious where each province ranks in the order of things. Saskatchewan is probably in the middle? Men are worse off at 66% while women are 54% overweight. I think many of these are realtors in Saskatoon as we spend a lot of time on the run and driving around so take out is a part of life for the busy Saskatoon real estate agent.
Canada follows behind our super-sized neighbours to the South. The worst are the U.S, Mexico, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Surprisingly, France, with their foie-gras, croissants, cheese, and other rich foods is one of the lowest ones.
The thinnest, Japanese. Only 24% are considered overweight and a mere 3% obese. Maybe we should take more advantage of all the Japanese restaurants in Saskatoon that have popped up over the last year. While Otowa, Yohei, Sushiro and the Samurai have been here forever it seems, we now have had a big influx of Sushi places in Saskatoon. A personal fave of mine is Go for Sushi on 8th Street where Sew and Home used to be. My nieces (5 and 8) LOVE sushi as it was introduced to them at an early age and thought it was funny we had “Gopher Sushi” as that is what they thought the name was. There are also 2 New Island Sushi restaurants and Nagoya. I am probably missing some. Next time Taste of Saskatoon comes around in the summer (popular Saskatoon event) try some sushi if you have never had it. It isn’t all raw fish!
As a busy Saskatoon real estate agent I would love to know if we have a Sushi go round type of place. When I lived in Australia I had one near my home and it was the perfect place to stop for a snack. You sit at an eating bar with strangers and watch a conveyer belt of individually plated sushi go around in front of you and take off whatever you want and are charged by the plate colour. As a realtor in Sasktaoon I would love to have a few of those around the city instead of having to go to a fast food place.
By 2020 it is expected that 3/4 of Americans will be overweight. Canada isn’t expected to get that fat that fast! Hopefully more people will fall in love with Japanese food and rituals and turn our numbers around. It is a big drain on our health care system and not the right way to ‘trim the fat’ of our society when it is said to be the cause of 25,000-40,000 premature deaths in Canada.
If you are a woman of my height (5’5″) and close to 150 lbs you are overweight. If you are around 180 lbs at my height, well, you are obese! So Canada, get off your butts and try to fix those numbers!
Kari Calder
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd
Saskatoon, Sk
306-653-8222