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A landmark new study has identified Canada as the first country in the world to provide comprehensive guidelines to address the management and prevention of obesity -- a condition reaching epidemic proportions in Canadian adults and children.

Developed by a panel of experts across the country and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the study outlines the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG).

These guidelines urge health care professionals to address the growing obesity issue in this country by measuring the waist circumference of all adults.

"As obesity has become a major health care concern in Canada, the experts agreed that this can no longer be regarded as a cosmetic or body image issue," said Dr. David Lau, president of Obesity Canada, chair of the CPG Steering Committee and a professor of medicine at the University of Calgary.

"Furthermore, we've identified recommendations for treating this medical problem as a societal issue that requires support from all levels of the community, from health care teams to schools to all levels of government," Lau said in a written statement.

The recommendations are based on the results of the latest research linking fat in the abdominal area to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

According to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), more than 50 per cent of Canadians are considered abdominally obese -- caused by too much food and not enough exercise.

"Health care practitioners need to take the lead and measure their patients' waist circumference, as this is a 'new vital sign' that's just as important as taking blood pressure, and measuring lipid and blood sugar levels," Lau said.

The report makes several recommendations to health care professionals and overweight and obese Canadians, including:

• Before surgery is considered, treatment for overweight and obese adults should consist of diet changes and regular exercise, supported by behaviour change.
• Health care professionals should test the glucose levels of overweight or obese Canadians from the age of 10 and monitor them at regular levels.
• Canadians should limit their 'screen time' in front of a television or a computer to two hours per day to encourage increased activity and less exposure to food advertising.
• Devise lifestyle modification plan with patient and, when appropriate, family members.
• Provide dietary counselling and calorie-reduced plan for weight loss (i.e. five to 10 per cent of body weight over six months).
• Prescribe 30 minutes of daily activity of moderate intensity and, when appropriate, increase to 60 minutes or more per day.

Drastic measures

If diet and exercise don't work,- the guidelines urge more drastic measures, including weight loss drugs -- and even bariatric surgery -- to make the stomach smaller and lead to a reduction in food intake.

"Obesity, once established, is a chronic disease and deserves long term treatments like any other chronic condition," Dr. Arya Sharma of Obesity Canada told Â鶹´«Ã½.

Another doctor says Canadians must be alerted to the fact that their weight and body shape can have a "serious" impact on their long-term health and need to act as soon as possible to lessen their risk of heart disease and diabetes.

"Even a modest loss of 5 per cent to 10 per cent of body weight, or a few inches from the waist, can result in significant health benefits," said Dr. Denis Drouin, clinical professor of family medicine at Laval University in Quebec City and a member of the CPG Expert Panel.

This report emerges as the number of overweight Canadians increases sharply in recent years.

It has been estimated nearly 60 per cent of Canadians are overweight and 23 per cent of Canadians are obese.

Additionally, one in 10 premature deaths among Canadian adults aged 20 to 64 years is directly attributable to being overweight or obese.

The CPG guidelines will be published as a supplement to Tuesday's edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and medical producer Elizabeth St. Philip