Durham Lives! is working together with community partners to create supportive environments at home, work and play in order to help families achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Approximately one out of every two adults in Ontario are overweight or obese.  Between 1981 and 1996, the number of obese children in Canada between the ages of 7 and 13 tripled. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can help to reduce a number of health risks including: Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, hypertension and stroke.

Why is this happening?

Our environments have evolved over the years to become “obesogenic”.  These environments promote sedentary or less active lifestyles and the over consumption of food and a greater consumption of high-fat high-calorie foods.

Some examples include:

• food marketing and advertising to children
• bigger serving sizes
• increased fast food consumption (associated with higher fat and calorie content, lower nutrient value)
• inactivity (children and youth need to accumulate at least 90 minutes of physical activity per day)
• increased time spent engaged in television viewing, computer time, and video games
• community designs which promote the use of cars over walking and cycling

What can be done?

There is no quick fix to turning this situation around.  Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a complex and multi-factorial issue. Changes made over time can have a positive impact on our health long term.

Healthy Weights Grants

Parents and schools play an important role towards ensuring children achieve and maintain a healthy weight.  Durham Lives! has hosted a healthy weights forum in the past, and is offering grants to schools to assist them in supporting healthy weights by promoting physical activity and healthy eating in school communities. 

• Download the healthy weights grant application (PDF)

To find out more about these grant opportunities please email durhamlives@durham.ca.