o here it is, people: According to a new StatsCan health survey more than 40 per cent of adults living in Toronto are now classified as overweight or worse.

Somewhat surprising the study is, in that it indicates that, moreso than any other province, an increasing number of Ontarians are overweight or even obese and the situation is escalating in the Toronto and 905 regions. Surprising in that Torontonians, in the same vein as New York or Miami, are also are very image conscious – and yet we are more overweight than the general masses of, say, Manitoba?

StatsCan blames the damage on excessive TV watching.

The report, released Wednesday, indicates that over 10 percent of adults living in the City of Toronto health region are obese. The cross-Canada survey - the largest study of the health of Canadians ever conducted - also found that more than a third of adults in Toronto are over their acceptable weight. More than 65,000 people across the country were surveyed.

The survey looked at Body Mass Index, an internationally accepted standard that uses a person's weight and height to gauge body fat. A person who is 5-foot-11 and weighs 215 pounds would have a BMI of 30 and would, therefore, be considered obese.

StatsCan blames the damage on excessive TV watching. The study, based on a survey of 42,600 men and women aged 20 to 64, found that in 2007, nearly three out of every 10 Canadian adults reported they watched an average of 15 or more hours of television a week and nearly two in 10 said they watched 21 or more hours a week.

"Watching television is associated with snacking and often with foods that aren't of the best nutritional value," said Tremblay's co-author, Statistics Canada senior analyst Margot Shields.

Here's the bulk of Stats Can's findings:

City of Toronto Health Region

Body Mass Index
(age 18 and over)
Overweight, total pop: 40.4
Obese: 10.6
Males
Overweight, total pop: 45.4
Obese: 10.6
Females
Overweight, total pop: 35.6
Obese: 10.6 15.0 15.1

Activities
Physically active: 42.1
Adult computer use 11hr or more (week): 17.2
Adult TV viewing 15hr or more (week): 24.0
Males
Physically active: 44.1
Adult computer use 11hr or more (week): 21.0
Adult TV viewing 15hr or more (week): 23.9
Females
Physically active: 40.2
Adult computer use 11hr or more (week): 13.7
Adult TV viewing 15hr or more (week): 24.0

Reporting high blood pressure
Males: 14.4
Females: 16.2

Reporting diabetes
Males: 6.7
Females: 6.2

Access to doctors
Have a regular doctor: 88.2

Smoking habits
Daily smoker, total pop: 18.1
Males: 24.7
Females: 11.9

Drinking habits
Regular drinker, total pop: 16.6
Males: 21.3
Females: 11.3