What ever happened to normal? We seem to have two-species of humans evolving, which has implications for those wanting to get into shape, those heading towards it or maintaining it.
The latest statistics reveal that about 54% of people are overweight or obese in Canada, and 61% in Saskatchewan (our head office's home province).
From the June 2014 Statistics Canada report, which is for 2013 data (BMI of adults – self-reported):
But what is more disturbing, is that the trend towards obesity is growing rapidly. From the same report, the overweight group has only grown by 2% in Canada over the past 10 years and Saskatchewan has even decreased by 1%. But, the obesity level has grown by 23% in both Canada and Saskatchewan over the past 10 years.
And childhood obesity is growing even faster.
So the trend is not just to overweight, it's towards really overweight or obesity!
However, the other story is the number of people completing marathons.
The marathon used to be the ultimate test of human endurance that we watched during the Olympics in amazement - the legendary run that resulted in the runner dropping dead. Today, everybody knows someone who has ran a marathon. (Sorry, could not find Canadian data).
The same holds-true for the number of people finishing half-marathons.
So when we compare the two, we have a massive portion of our population becoming obese, while another group of "human-Cheetahs" is also rising u . Statistically, the already large obesity rate is increasing by 23% in the past 10-years, but conversely the number of marathon finishers is increasing by 95%!
So we have two species of humans evolving – the obese and the ultra-fit.
The world of the normal human seems to be disappearing with lofty goals being set that historically were rarely achieved. If you are now contemplating getting into shape or just want to stay in shape, you don't have to run a 42 km marathon or 26 km half marathon to be considered healthy. A 5km run is great!
Normal is good.
What ever happened to normal?