Health Reports

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A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research

September 2011

Sugar consumption among Canadians of all ages

by Kellie Langlois and Didier Garriguet

One in every five calories that Canadians consume comes from sugar. This dietary sugar may occur naturally, for instance, in fruit and milk, or it may have been added to foods and beverages to improve palatability, for instance, in soft drinks, salad dressings, syrup and candy.

Self-reported pH1N1 influenza vaccination coverage for Ontario

by Julie Foisy, Laura C. Rosella, Ruth Sanderson, Jemila Seid Hamid, Badal Dhar and Natasha S. Crowcroft

The mass vaccination campaign against pH1N1 that Canada undertook in the fall of 2009 was the largest ever conducted in the country. The vaccine became available to Ontario residents October 26, and by December 6, the province had distributed enough doses to cover 81% of the population. Because the vaccine was delivered through public health units, several methods were used to document coverage, making an overall Ontario estimate challenging to compute. This report, based on an existing random digit-dialling telephone survey, provides an overview of self-reported pH1N1 vaccination uptake for Ontario.

August 2011

Bias in self-reported estimates of obesity in Canadian health surveys: An update on correction equations for adults

by Margot Shields, Sarah Connor Gorber, Ian Janssen and Mark S. Tremblay

The health consequences of excess body weight have made obesity a public health challenge throughout the world. Accurate monitoring of the prevalence of obesity is critical in the assessment of intervention programs.

Obesity estimates for children based on parent-reported versus direct measures

by Margot Shields, Sarah Connor Gorber, Ian Janssen and Mark S. Tremblay

Over the past 25 years, the prevalence of obesity among Canadian children, adolescents and adults has increased substantially, mirroring a worldwide phenomenon. Monitoring trends in obesity is essential to assess interventions aimed at preventing or reducing obesity in children.

July 2011

Bone health: Osteoporosis, calcium and vitamin D

by Didier Garriguet

The human skeleton is constantly being restored and replaced. In growing children, bone formation exceeds bone loss. The two processes balance out in adulthood, but with advancing age, bone mass starts to decrease.

Adults' use of health services in the year before death by suicide in Alberta

by Kenneth B. Morrison and Lory Laing

Mental illness, particularly depressive disorder, is an important predictor of suicide. Almost by definition, people who die by suicide are distressed, so contact with both psychiatric and primary health care services is common in the period before their death.