Life habits

This briefing note introduces the road diet, an engineering technique that reallocates space on a street or road for other uses when they are over-built and have excess lanes. In what follows, we will present a definition, some study results and practical implementation considerations for road diets.

When applied with consideration for contextual details, it is generally agreed that road diets provide significant safety benefits for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

With fewer and narrower lanes, the crossing distances for pedestrians are shorter, vehicle speeds come down to more appropriate levels, and protected space for cyclists is created. Road diets are most successful on streets carrying average annual daily traffic (AADT) of up to 12,000, but can be implemented on streets with higher volumes if intersections are studied and configured carefully.

Because much of the opposition to road diets stems from misconceptions about the function of the ro…

This document is the final one in a series of five documents based on a literature review published in 2011. The four previous documents compared the effects of two approaches to urban traffic calming – the black-spots approach and the area-wide approach – on four determinants of health: road safety, air quality, environmental noise and active transportation. In this document, we will examine the effects of these same two approaches (described below) on health inequalities. This will enable us to identify interventions that can effectively improve population health, overall, while also reducing health inequalities. Such interventions will be distinguished from those which act on only one or the other of these dimensions.

We will begin with a brief discussion of how health inequalities are conceptualized, followed by a few Canadian examples of health inequalities associated with, among other things, past and current transportation policies. This will be followed by a summary…

Physical activity and sedentary living are important public health issues. Several studies have revealed links between various features of the built environment and physical activity. In order to develop a profile, better understand the impacts of built environment features, and better direct interventions on the creation of built environments that are conducive to physical activity, using the best information available is essential. The aim of this TOPO is to outline the main methods for collecting this information. Special attention is given to the data collection tools recently developed by the Québec public health network.

In this issue

• A reminder of the links between the built environment and physical activity
• Methods for defining the built environment and supporting public health stakeholders
• And answers to the following questions :
  • What data collection methods can be used to characterize the built environment in an interv…

Obesity and overweight are risk factors linked to the appearance of a number of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, obesity also has an economic impact. Indeed, studies that have quantified the economic burden of obesity in Canada and abroad observe that the problem engenders significant costs for society. Such costs are not confined to those stemming from broader recourse to health services. Costs related to absenteeism, disability and other productivity losses that obesity engenders are at least as high as costs related to health care. Accordingly, studies of the economic burden reveal that the rise in overweight and obesity is not a source of concern solely for interveners working in the health field. Indeed, health problems linked to obesity affect several sectors of the economy and the resulting economic burden. Investing in the prevention of obesity thus offers benefits not only for the health of the population but also for Québec's econ…

In early adolescence, young people adopt lifestyle habits that could play a determining role in their future health. At this early age, they begin to develop their independence, while continuing to be influenced by their sociocultural environment. Sociocultural factors have an impact on eating habits and physical activity, and this is even more true in adolescence when youth are in the process of learning and experimenting.

The results of the Ados 12-14 study (see box, page 3) show that the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits among young Québec adolescents should take into account the influence of family and peers, as well as youth's perceptions of contradictory messages concerning lifestyle habits.

The publication of the second issue in the “Youth Smoking Survey” (YSS) series in 2010 showed the trends in cigarette and cigar or cigarillo use among students in Québec in 2006-2007 (Lasnier and Cantinotti, 2010). The purpose of this document is to update the smoking profile of Secondary 1 to 5 students using data collected in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. Indicators are presented for the proportion of students who smoked cigarettes in the 30 days preceding the survey, the proportion of smokers by smoking status, as well as the proportion of students who used alternative tobacco products (cigars, cigarillos and little cigars) in the last 30 days.

• In 2010-2011, the prevalence of cigarette use among Secondary 1 to 5 students was higher in Québec (12%) than in the rest of Canada (9%).
• Unlike the situation in 2006-2007, cigarette use was more prevalent than cigar or cigarillo use among secondary school students in Québec as a whole in 2010-2011.
• …

Over the years, specific efforts have been made to reach young people so that, on the one hand, they do not become tobacco-dependent, and on the other hand, they stop smoking. Several interventions have been developed specifically for them, as for example the youth coalition against smoking, the De Facto campaign, and the iQuitnow Website for adolescents. The few data available suggest that smoking cessation services such as the quit smoking centres, and the iQuitnow telephone helpline and Web site attract few adolescents (Montreuil, 2012; Tremblay and Roy, 2013), which is not at all surprising, since young people say that their favoured means for quitting smoking is to do it alone or with a friend (Dubé et al., 2009; Kischuck et al., 2004). According to the most recent data of the Québec Survey on Smoking, Alcohol, Drugs and Gambling in High School Students collected in 2008, close to six young smokers in ten reported having tried to quit smoking duri…

Prescription opioid use has increased in Québec in recent years. In view of the serious consequences stemming from drug misuse in this pharmacological class, it is possible that the increase has affected the temporal trend in opioid-related poisoning deaths.

Objectives

Determine the opioid-related poisoning death rates in Québec and describe the temporal evolution of the phenomenon by age, gender of the deceased, manner of death, and type of opioid involved.

Method

Type of study and population

A retrospective trend analysis of poisoning-related death rates from 1990 to 2009 in the population 20 years of age or over.

Data

The death registry of the Registre des événements démographiques and the computerized database of the Bureau du coroner en chef du Québec.

Statistical analysis

A Joinpoint Regression analysis used to determine whether significant chang…

This summary presents recommendations made by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec to foster safe active transportation between home and school among elementary school students. It is based on a review of the scientific literature.

The energy drink market has grown phenomenally in recent years. These products are said to enhance energy levels, physical alertness, and performance, and, as a result, are used by consumers for various reasons on various occasions. According to the literature, the reasons given by consumers include: staying alert, boosting energy, increasing motivation, improving sports performance, and partying all night. Some consumers also drink them because they taste good, to quench their thirst, for their perceived health benefits, and to improve the taste of alcoholic beverages.

Recent data have been published on the consumption of energy drinks by high-school students in Québec. In addition, the legal framework regulating these drinks in Canada has recently been changed. Drawing on this new information, this update of the TOPO summary published in August 2011 reports on the extent to which young people are consuming energy drinks and the level of health risk.