From smoking to motor-vehicle injuries, the lifestyle of people living in Northwestern Ontario is not a healthy one, according to figures in a recent study by the Health Statistics Division of Statistics Canada.
The stats aren’t good. On average, Northwestern Ontario residents are more obese–and more likely to die young than in the rest of the province or country.
“This region has a burden of preventable illness. We can document illnesses and deaths from causes that are known to be preventable,” Dr. Peter Sarsfield, medical officer and chief executive officer of the Northwestern Health Unit, said last week.
In fact, area residents are likely to die, on average, almost five years before residents across the rest of the country.
The average life expectancy of Canadians is 78.6 years but in Northwestern Ontario, it’s 4.8 years lower at 73.8. For men, the average is 75.7 years in Canada compared to 70.3 in Northwestern Ontario.
For women, the Canadian average is 78.6 years compared to 73.8 in Northwestern Ontario.
In a separate report, “the Report on the Health Status of Residents of Ontario,” the difference of margin was highlighted in a number of areas, including:
•57.3 deaths from lung cancer in Northern Ontario compared to 44.3 in Ontario;
•12 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in Northern Ontario compared to 8.1 across the province;
•1.4 deaths from snowmobile accidents in Northern Ontario compared to the provincial average of 0.3;
•obesity among males from Northern Ontario is 41 percent compared to 34 percent across Ontario;
•obesity among females in the north is 29 percent compared to 21 percent across the province;
•there was an average 85.1 children between the ages of one and nine who died between 1991-95 compared to 39.5 in the rest Ontario; and
•the smoking rate in Northern Ontario for males was 29 percent compared to 23 percent across the province, and 25 percent of females compared to 19 percent provincially.
The Northwestern Health Unit recently raised its municipal levies to try to handle 80 percent of the province’s mandatory programs amid some municipal opposition.
“Our numbers here are not good,” said Dr. Sarsfield, “These services we provide have a direct link to those.”
Dr. Sarsfield has said the municipalities should make health care a higher priority but the province also should examine the numbers.
“The province is not responding,” he charged. “We get $1.2 million from the unorganized area, that includes the First Nations, and it has not increased in eight years.”
In the press release issued last Monday, the Northwestern Health Unit stressed a need to promote health and prevent illness rather than simply offer treatment.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
