Take a bow, British Columbia, for having the healthiest population in Canada, and the third-healthiest population in the world. But let鈥檚 not rest on our laurels. We can 鈥� and should 鈥� do better.
A Conference Board of Canada report card compared the health performance of Canada, the provinces and territories, and 15 peer countries. B.C. earned Canada鈥檚 only overall A rating and ranked behind only Switzerland and Sweden internationally.
The report found Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at the bottom of the pack, on par with the U.S., which, along with Denmark, received a failing grade.
The report card used 11 indicators to measure health performance, giving A grades to B.C. for life expectancy (one of the longest in the world at 82.2 years), premature mortality, self-reported health status and mortality due to cancer. The province got B grades in infant mortality, mortality due to heart disease and stroke, self-reported mental health, mortality due to respiratory disease, mortality due to diseases of the nervous system and suicides.
Its lowest grade was a C for mortality due to diabetes.
In the B.C. legislature this week, an NDP questioner sought to know why the government hadn鈥檛 fulfilled its promise that every British Columbian would have a family physician by 2015. Health Minister Terry Lake didn鈥檛 answer the question directly, but was happy to respond by citing the Conference Board鈥檚 health report.
鈥淭his ranking reflects the high priority government places on the health and quality of life of British Columbians,鈥� said Lake in a statement posted on the Health Ministry鈥檚 website. 鈥淲e have achieved this ranking while maintaining among the lowest per capita health-care spending.鈥�
Dr. Gabriela Prada of the Conference Board credited the province鈥檚 high ranking to the more healthful lifestyles of residents, pointing to lower rates of smoking and heavy drinking. She also said that B.C has the most physically active population and the lowest obesity rate in the country.
Government policies alone can鈥檛 make that happen. Numerous studies provide irrefutable evidence that poor diet, smoking, too much alcohol and lack of exercise contribute significantly to poor health and higher health-care costs. The best way to lower health-care costs is for everyone to eat properly, exercise moderately, abstain from smoking and drink less alcohol.
But that鈥檚 a bit of an oversimplification. Studies show strong links between poverty and poor health. It鈥檚 one thing to insist that people follow varied and healthful diets, but when a grocery budget is tight, a family is forced into going for quantity before quality. Foods high in the bad-diet culprits 鈥� starch, fat and sugar 鈥� are often the cheapest foods, the least costly way to fill up, and fresh fruits and vegetables get short shrift.
The B.C. government promotes healthful lifestyles through its ActNowBC and Healthy Families B.C. programs, efforts that have earned compliments from the B.C. Healthy Living Alliance. Those efforts would be enhanced, however, by better wages, higher levels of education and wider job opportunities, factors that also contribute to overall health, but are sometimes overlooked in health-related discussions. Money might not buy happiness, but it certainly helps you make better health choices.
B.C.鈥檚 high rating on the health report card is cause for optimism, but not for complacency. As the health minister says: 鈥淭his recognition is not a reason for us to slow down our work or settle for the status quo, but rather an opportunity to build on our successes.鈥�
Compared to other jurisdictions, we look good, perhaps, but good enough should never be good enough.
