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Obesity rates for Canadian adults are much higher today than in the past, raising questions about how to achieve healthy weights and mitigate the associated health risks. While not a solution at the population level, bariatric surgery may be a treatment option for a relatively small proportion of obese individuals. In Canada, unlike in the United States, no consistent trend was evident in the use of this surgery between 1996-97 and 2003-04 across the five provinces for which comparable data were available. In 2003-04, bariatric surgeries were performed predominantly for women (87%); the average length of stay in hospital was 5 days; and 1.4% of patients were readmitted to hospital within 7 days of their discharge after surgery.

Surveillance of cancer in young adults has been neglected, despite Sir Richard Doll's having emphasized its importance a decade ago. This report describes the patterns, time trends and regional variation in cancer incidence in Canada's young adults. In 1987 96, 97,469 cancers were diagnosed in Canadians aged 20 44, with almost two-thirds in females. Ten types of cancer accounted for 83% of diagnoses in women and 74% in men. The most common cancers in young women were breast, cervix, melanoma, thyroid and ovary, and in young men were testis, non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma, colorectal and lung. Although incidence rose only slightly for total cancer between 1969 and 1996, it increased dramatically for several specific types of cancer: lung (women), melanoma, testis, thyroid and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Incidence declined for a few cancers (colorectal, lung (men), cervix and ovary). Lung cancer incidence was significantly lower than the Canadian average in Prairie women and non-significantly high in Quebec (both sexes), while the rate of melanoma was significantly low in Quebec (both sexes) and high in women in the Pacific region.

This paper describes the evaluation of questions on a cancer risk factor survey using three different methods: dataset response patterns, qualitative feedback, and questionnaire appraisal. These methods addressed the survey data, procedures and questions. The three methods identified similar issues but also made unique contributions. Dataset response patterns showed missing and out-of-range data, an order effect, and mixed coding. Qualitative feedback revealed lack of clarity, sensitive topics, technical or undefined terms, failure to hear all response options, overlapping response options (as perceived by respondents), coding problems and recall difficulties. Questionnaire appraisal showed technical or undefined terms, complex syntax, hidden definitions, and ambiguous wording. The survey assessment methods described here can improve data quality, especially when limited time and resources preclude in-depth questionnaire development.