Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is not simply a matter of making healthy lifestyle choices. How active we are and the amount of food we eat are influenced by various social, environmental and economic factors.

Due to numerous social changes over the past thirty years, we are now living in environments that do not support healthy weights.  Just when Ontarians are faced with more food choices, more processed foods, and larger food portions, we have engineered physical activity out of our lives, replacing it with remote controls, computers and video games.  As a consequence we are facing alarming rates of overweight and obesity, which put us at risk for chronic disease.
 
It is time we created the kind of environments that help Brant County citizens achieve and maintain healthy weights. All sectors – including municipal government, community organizations and businesses, school boards and schools, workplaces, health professionals, and media – have a significant responsibility in building a healthier community that is in support of healthy weights.

“I call on all sectors to become part of a community-wide effort to create the kind of environments that help Brant County citizens achieve and maintain healthy weights. I encourage you to read through the report, Call to Action: Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives in Brant County, and consider ways that your organization can increase physical activity and healthy eating opportunities for individuals and families in our community”.
 
Dan McCreary, Chair, Brant County Board of Health, 2006