Study on eating habits | Canadians are no better than Americans

Canadians don’t eat much better than Americans, concludes a study conducted by three Quebec universities. Our eating habits are getting a “poor score” and these won’t improve unless we adopt better public policies, experts argue.

An index to better compare countries

Canadians eat no better than Americans. This is the very first finding of the study led by Michel Lucas, professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University. These results, however, contradict other surveys conducted in the past, which indicated that Canadians had better eating habits than their neighbors to the south. According to Michel Lucas, the data used rather made it possible to assess “the adequacy of the food guides”. “The index used did not really allow comparisons to be made with other countries that have different food guides,” he explains. The new results show a difference of less than two percentage points between Canada and the United States, whereas it was much higher (more than 20 points) with the other method of calculation.

“A poor score”

The researchers used another indicator, the Alternative Diet Quality Index, used around the world, as the baseline for their study. This index is used in particular in the United States, which greatly facilitates comparisons with Canada. The authors of the study published in the journal Nutrients used data from Statistics Canada’s 2004 and 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey. In 2004, Canadians averaged 36.5 points out of a possible 100 points. Eleven years later, in 2015, the score rose to 39 points. In the United States, in 2004, the average score was 34.9 and it was 37.1 in 2010. Invited to describe the results in Canada, Michel Lucas spoke of “a mediocre score”.

“A Rude Awakening”

“It’s a rude awakening. The major problem is not what people consume, but what they don’t consume,” says Mr. Lucas, who is also a researcher at the Center de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval. However, the score for the consumption of fruits, whole grains and red meat remained essentially the same between 2004 and 2015, according to the study entitled Canadian Adults Fail Their Eating Habits Exam Twice (Canadians adults fail their dietary quality examination twice). There has also been a decline in vegetables and alcohol. Good news, however, Canadians improved their scores a little for the consumption of nuts, omega-3 fatty acids and sodium.

Better grades for immigrants

Unsurprisingly, women score higher than men when it comes to the quality of their diet. Canadians aged 19 to 30 scored below average in both 2004 (33 points) and 2015 (35.5 points). Results that improve in the other age groups. If the level of income influences the choices of consumers, these seem to be influenced even more by the level of education. Those with the equivalent of a high school diploma received scores of 34.8 (2004) and 35.3 points (2015) while those with a university degree posted scores of 38.7 (2004 ) and 41.4 points (2015). Note: Immigrants show better results than non-immigrants. “They often have a food culture where the consumption of legumes and nuts is favored,” notes Michel Lucas, who worked with researchers from the University of Sherbrooke and the University of Montreal for this study.

Quebec in the middle of the pack

Interesting fact: the study also makes it possible to compare the Canadian provinces. Quebec is in the middle of the pack behind British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Why does Quebec have a score lower than the Canadian average? Professor Lucas clarified that it was not the objective of the study to analyze the differences between the provinces. More work will be needed before any conclusions can be drawn, he notes. If the overall situation in Canada can improve, we should not expect miracles, he recalls. “I don’t think we’re going to have 80 points. Already, a score of 50 points would be good. Elsewhere in the world, the best students are found in Mediterranean countries and Japan, which have averages of around 70 points.

The limits of individual responsibilities

A bit like the fight against climate change, the Quebec study points out the limits of relying solely on individual choices to collectively adopt better eating habits. “Instead of addressing the powerful market and environmental determinants of dietary habits, the focus is often on informational strategies and approaches that place the onus on individual capacity,” say the authors. “We have to stop hitting people on the head. It’s a problem of leadership,” thunders Michel Lucas, who says he wants better public policies on these issues.