The Weight of Pandemic Policy: New Study Confirms Obesity Rates in Canada Spiked After COVID Mandates
A new study out of McMaster University confirms what many suspected: COVID pandemic policies didn’t flatten curves—they expanded waistlines.
According to the study published July 14, 2025, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, obesity rates in Canada accelerated dramatically after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young adults and women. Based on data from more than 746,000 Canadians between 2009 and 2023, researchers found that obesity rose at nearly double the pre-pandemic rate after April 2020.
While obesity is a complex and multifactorial issue, the authors point to pandemic disruptions—lockdowns, school closures, isolation, and stress—as major contributing factors to this concerning trend.
“Our findings show that these disruptions had a measurable impact on Canadians’ health,” said Laura Anderson, the study’s senior author.
A “New Normal” with Lasting Consequences
From 2009 to 2022, BMI-defined obesity rates climbed from 25% to 33%, an eight-point jump. But the most striking data come from the pandemic years: obesity rates increased by more than one percentage point per year, compared to just 0.5 points per year before COVID-19 restrictions began.
The surge was especially pronounced in:
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Young adults, a group that historically had lower obesity rates
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Women, whose obesity rates rose 9%, compared to 7% in men
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White and Black populations, who experienced the highest increases
Researchers also flagged a small uptick in underweight adults, likely another side effect of prolonged disruption and stress.
Did Public Health Cause More Harm Than Good?
This study adds to a growing body of evidence that the so-called “public health response” to COVID-19—supposedly designed to protect Canadians—came with severe, long-term consequences. Physical health, mental health, education, and economic stability were all collateral damage.
From closed gyms and playgrounds to months of stay-at-home orders and widespread food insecurity, the environment created by pandemic mandates made healthy choices harder—especially for lower-income Canadians.
CHD Canada and our allies have consistently warned about these outcomes. This study is more proof that the lockdown-first strategy failed the people it claimed to protect.
From “Equity” to Accountability: Who’s Responsible for Canada’s Post-Pandemic Health Crisis?
The study’s authors call for “targeted, equitable strategies” to support well-being—but this kind of academic doublespeak dodges the real issue: Canadians were set up to fail by a public health regime that discouraged movement, closed schools, restricted outdoor activities, and isolated entire communities.
Between 2020 and 2023, these restrictions were pushed and enforced by Dr. Theresa Tam (Chief Public Health Officer), federal Health Ministers Patty Hajdu and Jean-Yves Duclos, and provincial leaders like Christine Elliott, Sylvia Jones (Ontario), and Dr. Bonnie Henry (British Columbia).
These officials prioritized control over common sense, ignoring the basic needs of physical and mental well-being. While they lectured Canadians about staying home to “save lives,” they quietly created the conditions for a long-term health crisis.
This isn’t about blaming individuals for weight gain. It’s about demanding accountability from the policymakers who pushed destructive, unproven policies under the banner of “public health.”
It’s Time for Accountability—Not Spin
Pandemic policies were sold to Canadians as necessary sacrifices for long-term safety. Five years later, we’re seeing the fallout:
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Rising obesity
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Declining youth health
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Mental health crises
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Academic loss
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Economic strain
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A medical system in collapse
- And thousands of COVID vaccine-injured Canadians being ignored and denied treatment
So we ask the questions that our public health officials refuse to:
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Were the lockdowns worth it?
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Who benefited from these restrictions?
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How do we make sure public health is never again weaponized against real health?
Canadians deserve answers. Victims deserve justice. And we all deserve a public health system that puts people—NOT politics—first.
Take Action: Demand Accountability Now
Canadians should not have to quietly absorb the long-term fallout of reckless pandemic policy.
👉 Contact Canada’s current Minister of Health, Marjorie Michel, and demand an independent review of the public health decisions made between 2020–2023—including the impact of lockdowns, school closures, and movement restrictions on obesity, mental health and chronic disease.
Tell her: We need truth, accountability and a public health system grounded in real health—not politics or Pharma-funded ideology.
Marjorie Michel Photo Credit: Christian Diotte, House of Commons Photo Services
Source: McMaster University Study; Trends in obesity defined by body mass index among adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – Canadian Medical Association Journal, July 14, 2025
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