Cake diet, anyone? Canada’s slimmest province eats the most
dessert

BY MISTY HARRIS, POSTMEDIA NEWSNOVEMBER 14, 2012

[photo caption] Gluten-free chocolate and beetroot cake, served
at the home of cooking instructor and author Maria Loggia in
Hudson, west of Montreal. A new study finds people in Quebec are
more likely than fellow Canadians to indulge in dessert.

It’s a delicious irony that you have to go to Canada’s slimmest
province to find the biggest advocates of dessert.

According to a new long-term study of consumption patterns,
Quebecers indulge their sweet tooth 42 per cent more than the
national average – with top picks being cake and cookies – yet
boast the lowest proportion of obese and overweight adults in the
country.

La belle province indeed.

Of course, having your cake (and eating it, too) isn’t exactly
the Rosetta Stone of dieting. But a leading obesity researcher
says French Canadians’ pleasure-centric approach to eating offers
strong clues to maintaining a recognizable waistline.

“Obesity is largely a problem of culture and values – and Quebec
does have a very different eating culture and values,” says Dr.
Arya Sharma, a professor of medicine and chair in obesity
research at the University of Alberta. “It comes down to mindful
eating: taking time, celebrating food, sitting down at the table
to eat and not eating at your desk or in your car or in front of
the TV.”

The NPD Group, a leading market research firm, reports that
dessert is eaten after 112 meals annually per capita in Quebec,
compared to 89 in Atlantic Canada, 57 in Ontario, and 55 in the
west (Manitoba through B.C).

Sharma, however, says what’s important is the number of calories
consumed overall, the size of people’s portions, and the time
they take to get from the beginning of a meal to the end.

“It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realize that you’ve
eaten. And you can do a lot of damage in 20 minutes,” says
Sharma, who is the scientific director Canadian Obesity Network.

According to Health Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey, 56
per cent of Quebec’s adult population is obese or overweight –
which, although sizable, is still the lowest in the country.
Newfoundland and Labrador tip the scales at 71 per cent, followed
by Saskatchewan at 68 per cent; all other provinces weigh in at
between 60 and 66 per cent, with the exception of Ontario, whose
proportion of obese and overweight adults is 59 per cent.

NPD industry analyst Joel Gregoire says his company’s study can’t
fully explain regional weight variance – something affected by
everything from smoking rates to demographics to physical
activity – but believes it sheds light on contributing factors.

For instance, 82 per cent of households in Quebec feel it’s
important to enjoy full, regular meals each day, versus 60 per
cent of western Canadians and 63 per cent of Ontarians. Quebecers
are also likely to make their meals at home (six out of 10
lunches, 6.5 out of 10 dinners), which has been linked to better
health; avoid skipping meals; and are less prone to snacking.

The good news for the rest of Canada – particularly those who
like to graze – is that household choices are trending
positively.

“Yogurt has been the fastest growing category, in terms of
consumption, over the past decade,” says Gregoire. “And fruit is
the Number 1 snack food in all regions except Atlantic Canada,
where it’s behind gum – and I get challenged on whether gum is
even a snack or not.”

The study is based on a national sample of about 3,000 Canadians,
whose daily eating habits were recorded in a diary over seven
days: 25 new families per week, for a total of more than 1,300
households over one year. It’s regarded as the only continuous
consumption study of its kind in Canada.

mharris(at)postmedia.com

Twitter.com/popcultini

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