Physical and mental health, as well as active lifestyles are important contributors to the quality of individuals' lives.

• Life Expectancy at Birth
• PercentWith Quite a Lot of Stress, 2005
• Percent Daily or Occasional Smokers
• Percent Heavy Drinkers
• PercentWith a Regular Medical Doctor
• PercentWith Flu Shot Within Last Year
• PercentWith 5 or More Servings of Fruit and Vegetables Per Day
• Self-Rated Health: % Very Good or Excellent
• Percent Current Smokers
• Percent 12+ Physically Active in Leisure Time
• Physicians (General/Family Physicians and Specialists)
• Physicians (General/Family Only)
• Proportion of Low Birth Weight Babies
• Vital Signs® Canada Original Data Sources
• Vital Signs® Canada Original Data Sources - Where Waterloo Region Stands

3-1 Life Expectancy at Birth

Source: Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics- Deaths Database

back to top

3-2 Percent With Quite a Lot of Stress, 2005

Source: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2006001/tables/t004b.pdf
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-3 Percent Daily or Occasional Smokers

Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-4 Percent Heavy Drinkers

* 5 or more drinks, 12 times a year

Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-5 Percent With a Regular Medical Doctor

Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-6 Percent With Flu Shot Within Last Year

Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-7 Percent With 5 or More Servings of Fruit and Vegetables Per Day

Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-8 Self-Rated Health: % Very Good or Excellent

Source: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2006001/tables/t002c.pdf, and http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221- XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-9 Percent Current Smokers

Source: Canadian Community Health Survey ( CCHS 2.1 and 3.1), http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-10 Percent 12+ Physically Active in Leisure Time

Source: Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-003-XIE/2006008/articles/physically/physicallyactivecanadians-en.pdf,
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2008001/profiles-en.htm

back to top

3-11 Physicians (General/Family Physicians and Specialists) per 100,000, 1998-2005

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information, Health Indicator Reports.

back to top

3-12 Physicians (General/Family Only) per 100,000, 1999-2005

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information, Health Indicator Reports.

back to top

3-13 Proportion of Low Birth Weight Babies

Source: 1997 and 2001 data are from Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics- Birth Database

back to top

1-5 Vital Signs® Canada Original Data Sources

1-6 Vital Signs® Canada Original Data Sources – Where Waterloo Region Stands

III-1: Low Birth Weight Babies

The proportion of newborn babies who were of low birth weight in Kitchener was 5.7 per cent in 2005-2006, up 0.2 percentage points from 2004-2005. The 2005-2006 rate was 0.6 percentage points below the provincial rate and 0.4 percentage points below the Canada-wide rate.

Source: 1997 and 2001 data are from Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics- Birth Database. Table 102-4203. Cansim series: v21525794, v21526154, v21526190, v21526208, v21526298, v21526406, v21526532, v21526946, v21527324, v21527486, v21527540, v21527558, v21527594,v21527612, v21527828, v21527936, v21528044, v21528062, v21528080, v21528098, v21528116, v21528224, v21528368, v21528386, v21528422,v21527090, v21527360, v21528314, v21528332, v21528350, v21526586.

back to top

III-2: Physicians per 100,000

The number of active physicians (family practitioners and specialists) per 100,000 in Kitchener was 128 in 2005, 33 per cent lower than the national rate. The rate is up 6 per cent from 121 in 1998, the first year for which data are available.

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information, Health Indicator Reports.

back to top

Table III-3: Obesity Rates

Source:: Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 2.1) 2003, Cansim Table 105-0292 for Canada, Provinces, CMAs and Health Regions, terminated table. For 2005 and 2007, Canadian Community Health Survey, Indicator Profile, for Canada, Provinces and Health Regions, Cansim Table 105-0502

back to top

III-4: Life expectancy

At 79.7 years in 2001, the life expectancy in Kitchener was 0.3 per cent higher than the national life expectancy and equal to the provincial life expectancy. Life expectancy increased by 0.6 years since 1997.

Source: Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics- Deaths Database, Table 102-0218, Cansim series: v20717323, v20718247, v20691913, v20692144, v20718478, v20694454, v20696071, v20718709, v20702077, v20704156, v20704849, v20705080, v20705542, v20705773, v20719171, v20709469, v20719402, v20710855, v20711086, v20711317, v20711548, v20719633, v20714551, v20714782, v20715244, v20699074, v20702539, v20713858, v20714089, v20714320, v20696764.

back to top

III-5: Smoking Rates

With 22.2 per cent of the population aged 12 and older identifying as current smokers in 2007, Kitchener has experienced a 16.2 per cent increasefrom 19.1 per cent in 2005. The rate was 1.4 per cent above the national rate (21.9 per cent) and 7.8 per cent above the provincial rate (20.6 per cent).

Source: Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 2.1) 2003, Cansim Table 105-0292 for Canada, Provinces, CMAs and Health Regions, terminated table. For 2005 and 2007, Canadian Community Health Survey, Indicator Profile, for Canada, Provinces and Health Regions, Cansim Table 105-0502

back to top

III-6: Leisure-Time

In 2007, 45.7 per cent of the population aged 12 and over in Kitchener reported being physically active or moderately active. This represented a decrease of 6.0 percentage points from 2005. The 2007 level was 3.1 percentage points lower than the provincial level and 3.3 percentage points lower than the national level.

Source: Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 2.1) 2003, Cansim Table 105-0292 for Canada, Provinces, CMAs and Health Regions, terminated table. For 2005 and 2007, Canadian Community Health Survey, Indicator Profile, for Canada, Provinces and Health Regions, Cansim Table 105-0502.

back to top

III-7: Self-rated Mental Health

In 2007, 73.0 per cent of respondents in Kitchener rated their mental health status as “excellent” or “very good.” This represented a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from 2005. By comparison, the proportion of respondents rating their own mental health as "excellent" or "very good" in 2007 was 72.6 per cent in Ontario and 72.7 per cent Canada-wide.

Source: Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), Indicator Profile, for Canada, Provinces and Health Regions, Cansim Table 105-0502.

back to top

III-8: Work Absence (Average Days Lost per Year Including Maternity) for Full-time Employees

In Kitchener, full-time workers were absent from work an average of 8.3 days in 2007 (including days spent on maternity leave). By comparison, the average number of days lost in Ontario in 2007 was 9.3. Canada- wide, the average was 10.2 missed days. The average number of missed days in Kitchener has decreased from a level of 9.2 in 1987.

Source: For CMA data, Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Cansim Table 279-0029. Data for the economic regions are by special request, program A060807.

back to top

III-8-i Work Absence Rates for full-time employees, total incidences for Vital Signs CMAs, per cent, 1987- 2007

With a work absence rate of 8.5 per cent, Kitchener had a rate equal to the rate for Ontario (8.5 per cent) and 0.3 percentage points below the national rate (8.8 per cent). The rate has increased 23 per cent from 6.9 per cent in 1987. This compares to an increase of 52 per cent nationally and a 42 per cent increase in Ontario.

back to top

III-9: Current Boil-Water Advisories

Kitchener CMA had a boil-water advisory in Waterloo as of May 28, 2008. The Waterloo advisory affected only the David Fisher Residence building.

Source: The Water Chronicles. This collects data from the authority of each province, which differ in each province. The site is updated twice a day. http://www.water.ca/textm.asp

Source: Census population data for those affected taken from Statistics Canada 2006 Community Profiles.

back to top

III-10: Proportion of the Population 12 years and over without a Regular Medical Doctor

In Kitchener in 2007, 6.2 per cent of the population 12 years and over reported that they did not have a regular medical doctor. This was down slightly from 6.9 per cent in 2003. By comparison, 9.6 per cent of the population in Ontario reported not having a regular medical doctor in 2007. In Canada as a whole, the percentage was 15.2.

Source: Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), Indicator Profile, Cansim Table 105-0502 for Canada, Provinces and Health Regions.

back to top