Toronto may not be a better choice but certainly it is a health choice for new immigrants

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Biomed

Clean living is its own reward Toronto life expectancy second highest Only Vancouver residents live longer

PETER GORRIE
FEATURE WRITER

Do you want to live long and prosper?

Then transport yourself to Toronto, Statistics Canada suggests.

The city has the second highest life expectancy among Canada's 25 major urban areas. Only Vancouver is ahead on the longevity scale.

It might be because Toronto is still "The Good": on average, people here smoke and drink less than most other Canadians, the national statistical agency says in a report released yesterday.

And it helps that Toronto ranks high in average family income, post-secondary education, employment and the proportion of residents who were born outside Canada, all statistically linked with longevity.

The bleaker flip side can be found just a four-hour drive north of Yonge and Bloor Sts., in the Greater Sudbury area. People in that nickel mining city, by Canadian standards, smoke and drink heavily, are more likely to be overweight and have high blood pressure, and typically die a few months after they turn 76.


"It is well known that countries differ widely in their life expectancy; however, this study shows that Canada's metropolitan areas are just as diverse in this regard," the report concludes. There is also, "a wide variation among the largest urban areas in terms of health-related lifestyles and behaviours, their health conditions and their health-care needs."

The study, based on the Canadian Community Health Survey done in 2000 and 2001, covers the 60 per cent of Canadians who live in 25 urban areas with a population more than 100,000.

Life expectancy for all Canadians, at 79.4 years, is tied with Italy for fifth highest among the 22 most developed countries. Japan is tops at 81.2 years; the United States is 19th at 76.8 years; the Czech Republic last at 75.1.

Vancouver leads among the Canadian cities at 81.1 years. Toronto is right behind at 81 years, while Sudbury trails at just 76.7.

The survey didn't look at environmental impacts on health, but most of the cities with low life expectancies — including Windsor, St. Catharines, Ont., Thunder Bay and Chicoutimi, Que. — experience either smog or industrial air pollution. Those cities also have a high rate of people reporting their health needs aren't being met.

Smog takes its toll on Toronto. The acting medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, reported this month that each year, air pollution contributes to about 1,700 premature deaths and 6,000 hospital admissions in the city. Nevertheless, Toronto is among the cities where people are most likely to assess their own health as good to excellent. And while the city's supply of family doctors and specialists is only average, few of its residents say their health needs aren't being met, StatsCan reports.

The survey also found that, while Torontonians are more inclined than the Canadian average to be couch potatoes in their leisure time, they're less likely to be obese. The opposite occurs in Sudbury, where people report more leisure activity but tend more to be overweight.

When it comes to high blood pressure, diagnoses of depression and feelings of stress, Toronto is right in the middle of the Canadian pack.

On the other hand, Victoria, sunny Lotus Land, boasts Canada's most active, least obese population and is low on the stress meter but ranks high in heavy drinking — defined as downing five or more drinks at least 12 times a year — and has the country's worst depression rate.

Toronto, often presumed to endure Canada's highest-paced, pressure-packed lifestyle, ranks below average in stress. Quebec City, the capital of bonhomie, reports the highest stress.

St. John's leads in the "eat, drink and be merry" category: People in the Newfoundland capital smoke and drink heavily, suffer less depression, feel little stress, and are second only to Sudbury in low longevity.

As might be expected, people in Victoria and Vancouver are both active and less likely to be obese. But Sherbrooke in Quebec's Eastern Townships, although Canada's sloth capital with the least leisure activity, has the second lowest obesity rate.

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