Canada weighs in

Paging Dr. Google

Canadians may feel overwhelmed with health and lifestyle information, but that isn't stopping them from searching for important diagnostic information on the internet, a CBC News/Leger Marketing survey suggests.

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Many Canadians are deluding themselves about their weight, a poll released for CBC News suggests. When asked if they're overweight, 44 per cent said yes, with seven per cent admitting to being obese.

The reality is worse. More than 60 per cent of adult Canadians are overweight and 24 per cent are clinically obese, according to a 2009 Statistics Canada report that directly measured heights and weights.

So many Canadians are unfit that new national guidelines will lower the recommended levels of daily activity to encourage them to get off the couch, CBC News has learned.

The poll suggests 42 per cent of adults say they get no vigorous exercise and 34 per cent of youth get fewer than two hours per week — what one exercise expert calls a "public health crisis of inactivity."

Sleep deprivation is also a challenge. The poll indicated that three in 10 Canadians get less than six hours of sleep a night — less than the amount that experts say is needed to perform optimally through the day. And nearly 58 per cent of Canadians said they often feel tired.

• More on the poll: Full report (PDF)

Physical activity challenge

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