Atlantic children have a weight problem: report

A national report on obesity says Atlantic Canada has the fattest kids in the country, but New Brunswick schools are on the right track when it comes to curbing obesity.

The study, by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, looked at children between the ages of two and 17. It suggests that across Canada, an average of 26 per cent of children are overweight or obese. In New Brunswick, that number rises to 34 per cent of all children, second only to Newfoundland and Labrador, where 36 per cent or children and teenagers are considered obese.

• OFFICIAL SITE: Canadian Institute for Health Information

But the report says the provincial healthy eating initiatives program could help turn that number around.

Researcher Elizabeth Gyorfi-Dyke says access to nutritious foods will make a difference. "We know that there are some things that work, such as comprehensive programs in schools."

Gord Hopkins, the principal at Edith Cavell School, says the government's decision to ban junk food and introduce healthy options was a hard sell in some schools.

But he says his students are embracing the change. "When they cut up the vegetables or the fruit and it's all in a nice presentation they're going to try it, they're going to eat it, so it's a lot better."

The report says exercise is another important piece in the fitness puzzle, and it encourages schools to make exercise a priority.