Navigating health in Canada can feel overwhelming. Between unwalkable cities, rising food prices, and sedentary lifestyles, maintaining health often seems like an uphill battle. But here’s the truth we need to face: Being healthy will never be effortless.
It’s not because we lack willpower—it’s because our environment, culture, and daily routines in North America don’t set us up for success. Becoming healthy and staying that way requires effort, self-awareness, and a willingness to go against the grain.
But the good news? It is possible, and the rewards are worth it.
In this article, we’ll explore the biggest barriers to health, why they exist, and practical ways to overcome them—so you can start making the healthy choice the easier choice.
Why is it so Hard to Stay Healthy?
1. Sedentary Work and Home Lives
Most of us sit more than we move. Whether it’s sitting at a desk, scrolling through social media, binge-watching Netflix, or using apps to order groceries, much of our day requires little movement.
Even those in physically demanding jobs often find that as they move up in their careers, tasks become less active. A 2022 study found that Canadians, on average, spend an average of 9.8 hours a day being sedentary, contributing to rising health concerns such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
What Can You Do?
- Add exercise snacks: Take stretch breaks, walk while taking phone calls or during online meetings you are not playing an active role in, or swap your desk chair for a stability ball.
- Set movement goals: Some people do best with a goal to reach – aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. If you split it up throughout the week, you could hit those goals doing 21.5 minutes per day.
- Rethink leisure activities: Swap screen time for active hobbies like gardening, playing a sport, or taking an evening stroll. Ask your friends and families for help by adding activity into your social gatherings such as getting coffee then going for a walk instead of sitting in the coffee shop.
2. Canada's Unhealthy Urban Design
Many cities in Canada weren’t designed with pedestrians in mind. Limited public transport, sprawling suburban developments, and unsafe biking options mean driving is often the only choice.
For those without a car, even simple errands—like grocery shopping—can feel like a logistical nightmare, making physical activity harder to incorporate naturally into daily life. This lack of accessible infrastructure acts as a barrier to daily activity, making “going the extra mile” to stay healthy truly feel daunting.
How Can You Manage This?
- Seek out active transportation: If possible, walk or bike to nearby locations. I haven’t braved winter biking yet, but I love biking to work as much as the weather allows! Even parking farther from store entrances can add steps.
- Advocate for your community: Join local groups focused on improving walkability, bike lanes, and public transport.
- Find alternatives: If city infrastructure limits movement, prioritize active routines at home, join a gym, or walk inside the mall.
- Prioritize active social events: Organize outdoor gatherings with friends or family, such as group hikes, park picnics, or community sports. Choosing social activities that incorporate movement not only benefits your physical health but also strengthens emotional connections and reduces stress.
3. Weather as a Barrier to Activity
Canada’s diverse climate, while beautiful, can often make staying active more difficult, especially during colder months. Harsh winters and icy sidewalks discourage outdoor exercise, while hot summers or smoke warnings can sometimes feel draining or unsafe for prolonged activity. These seasonal challenges can lead to prolonged periods of inactivity, impacting overall health and well-being.
What Can You Do During The Winter?
- Utilize indoor options: Explore local fitness centers, indoor tracks, or swimming pools to maintain activity when the weather isn’t cooperating.
- Dress for the weather: Invest in proper cold-weather gear or sun protection to stay comfortable during outdoor exercise.
- Create home routines: Set up a designated space for home workouts to keep movement accessible all year round. Consider digital exercise classes or home equipment like resistance bands or a stationary bike to stay motivated
4. The Climbing Cost of Food
Healthy eating is harder when groceries cost a fortune. Between 2019 and 2024, the average Canadian grocery bill jumped 26 percent, making nutritious foods financially challenging for many families.
What drives prices so high? Import reliance, climate change impacts, and ever rising corrupt corporate profit margins all play a role. For example, extreme weather events in California and Mexico disrupt crops, limiting supply and driving up prices on imported staples.
How Can You Combat Inflation?
- Plan meals ahead: Limiting food waste can help stretch budgets—use leftovers thoughtfully or freeze excess food.
- Create a shopping list: Stick to a list based on your planned meals to avoid impulsive purchases that may go unused.
- Buy in-season or local: Seasonal produce at farmers’ markets or through community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs is often cheaper and fresher.
- Consider frozen produce: Frozen fruits and vegetables are often harvested at their peak ripeness and flash-frozen to preserve nutrients. This can make them a healthier option compared to fresh produce that has been imported and spent days or weeks in transit. Additionally, frozen produce tends to be more affordable, has a longer shelf life, and can help reduce food waste.
- Opt for budget-friendly staples: Incorporate beans, lentils, and whole grains, which are nutritious, affordable, and versatile.
- Buy in smaller quantities: Purchasing only what is needed for the week can prevent fresh produce or perishable items from spoiling.
- Store food properly: Learn proper storage techniques for fruits, vegetables, and leftovers to keep them fresh for longer. For instance, storing leafy greens in airtight containers with a paper towel can reduce spoilage.
- Rotate pantry items: Use the “first in, first out” rule to minimize expired goods—place newer items behind older ones in your cabinets.
Work with Our Dietitians
Our expert dietitians can help you create personalised meal plans and provide guidance on effective meal prepping techniques. By planning your meals ahead, you can reduce food waste, save money, and align your eating habits with your health and wellness goals. Contact us today to take the first step towards a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.
5. Busy Culture Leaves Little Time for Health
North American culture often glorifies being busy—juggling work, parenting, and endless responsibilities while sacrificing our well-being. This creates a cycle where cooking at home, exercising, and sleeping well are secondary to “being productive.” For many, managing multiple jobs leaves health completely sidelined.
Many Canadians skip meals, rely on fast food, or sacrifice sleep just to keep up with work and family responsibilities. Taking care of our bodies can seem low on the priority list when survival and meeting demands are the focus.
How to Resist Busy Culture:
- Plan time for your own well-being: Block out time for meals, movement, and rest—even 15 minutes of mindfulness helps.
- Plan for busy periods: Instead of assuming everything will go smoothly, tailor your planning to account for busy days and common obstacles that might throw you off course. For instance, one of my clients focuses on batch cooking specifically for hectic evenings. She doesn’t eat leftovers all week but doubles a few recipes to have healthy dinners ready for nights with afterschool activities. Alternatively, she preps ingredients in advance for quick and convenient slow-cooker meals, perfect for those busier times.
- Focus on one habit at a time: Don’t try to do it all. Starting small—like adding one homemade meal a week—can spark momentum.
- Leverage technology: Use apps for meal planning, fitness tracking, or guided meditation to help integrate wellness into your busy routine. Scheduling reminders can keep you on track with your health goals, even on hectic days.
- Ask for help: Share responsibilities with family or housemates, or consider outsourcing tasks when possible. This could mean grocery delivery or joining a meal-prep service to ease the burden. Prioritizing your health doesn’t mean doing it all alone.
- Create a family culture of health: Teach children and teens age-appropriate tasks to assist with cooking and meal preparation. Not only does this lighten your workload, but it also helps them develop valuable life skills and a positive relationship with food. By involving them in the process, you instill healthy habits that can last a lifetime while spending quality time together as a family.
By making small, intentional changes, even the busiest individuals can start taking steps toward a more balanced and healthy lifestyle. Remember, every positive action accumulates over time and contributes to your overall wellbeing.
6. The Social Weight of Food
Food is at the heart of many social gatherings. Sharing meals is a way to build connection, celebrate, and bond. However, it can also make prioritizing personal health tricky.
Group settings often encourage less healthy eating habits (how many times have you said “yes” to dessert because someone else was?). Meanwhile, societal or familial pressures around food can sometimes make it difficult to say no or stick to health goals without feeling judgment or exclusion.
How You Can Navigate Social Eating
- Practice saying no to ‘Food Pushers’: Practice saying things like, “That looks delicious, but I’ll pass for now,” without over-explaining.
- Bring your own options: If you’re attending potlucks or parties, contribute something wholesome so there’s always a choice you feel good about.
- Eat before attending events: If you know you’ll be at an event with limited healthy options or unpredictable food choices, consider eating a balanced meal beforehand. This can help you feel more in control and reduce the temptation to overindulge. Additionally, if you’ve already treated yourself earlier in the week or eaten out multiple times, this strategy can help balance your intake and keep you on track with your goals.
- Shift focus: Suggest non-food-centered activities with friends, like hiking, bowling, or attending events.
- Learn to read a menu: When dining out, take a moment to scan the menu for options that align with your goals. Look for meals that include a balance of lean proteins, whole grains, and vegetables, and consider portion sizes to avoid overeating. Don’t hesitate to ask for modifications, such as dressing on the side or substituting fries for a side salad.
Our dietitians are here to help you develop practical skills for navigating menus and social situations to make choices that suit your unique goals. Get in touch with us today to start building your confidence and staying on track!
7. Declining Cooking Skills
Cooking is becoming a lost art. Each generation learns fewer tips and skills for meal prep, food storage, and reducing waste. Instead, fast food and pre-packaged meals dominate diets—convenient, yes, but nutritionally lacking.
Beyond health, this loss of cooking knowledge contributes to more food waste because people aren’t sure how to store or repurpose ingredients.
How Can You Sharpen Your Skills?
- Learn basic cooking techniques: Start with simple recipes—think soups, stir-fries, or roasted veggies.
- Follow online tutorials: Platforms like YouTube or TikTok have endless cooking demos for free.
- Focus on sustainability: Learn how to store fresh produce, freeze leftovers, and prevent spoilage to stretch your grocery bill.
- Get creative with leftovers: Experiment with combining leftover ingredients into new meals, like turning roasted vegetables into a hearty curry or repurposing cooked chicken into a wrap or salad.
- Make it a family activity: Cooking can be a wonderful opportunity to bond with family members. Share recipes, teach younger generations, and inspire creativity in the kitchen together.
By relearning and passing on cooking skills, you can take control of your nutrition, reduce waste, and even save money. Small steps, like cooking one more meal at home each week, can make a big difference over time. Remember, the kitchen is a learning space—mistakes are okay and part of the process!
8. Gender & Race Inequalities To Health
One of the biggest, least discussed barriers to health is gender inequality in household responsibilities. Women, even those working full-time, consistently bear more of the domestic workload—leaving them with less time for self-care. Research shows that men, on average, have more leisure time than women, making it easier to prioritize fitness and health.
These inequalities are further compounded by systemic racism, which creates additional barriers to health for marginalized communities. BIPOC communities in Canada often experience reduced access to healthcare, lower wages, and higher rates of food insecurity, all of which contribute to poorer health outcomes. Black and Indigenous communities, in particular, face disproportionately high rates of chronic illness due to systemic factors that limit access to nutritious food, safe housing, and adequate healthcare.
As a Dietitian, I can’t fix these systemic barriers—but it’s real, and acknowledging it matters. If this is a challenge in your life, seeking guidance from a psychologist, community support organizations, or policy advocacy groups may help address these deeper structural issues.
At Edge Nutrition, we recognize that health is deeply personal and shaped by cultural, social, and financial realities. Our Dietitians work to create nutrition and lifestyle plans that honor your cultural traditions and preferences, ensuring that the advice we provide is both meaningful and sustainable for you. We will never recommend foods or habits that do not fit within your budget or lifestyle. Instead, we collaborate with you to find practical, realistic solutions that support your well-being without compromising your values or financial situation.
Shifting the Narrative Around Health
The reality is that maintaining health in a culture filled with barriers will always take effort, as many of the choices that support well-being often push against the norms of our culture, environment, accessibility, climate, and social customs.
Even with intentionality in creating a culture of wellness at work, home, and in your community, sustaining it means actively resisting the status quo. It’s undeniably hard, and I deeply understand and share in my clients’ frustrations about its difficulty.
Remember, health isn’t a destination; it’s a practice. Consider where you can tweak your own environment—social circles, work schedules, or home routines—to make the healthier choice the easier choice.
Whether it’s redesigning habits with intention, building routines around joy and movement, or advocating for structural changes, the key lies not in finding shortcuts but in creating systems that support sustainability. Remember, you get to choose your hard—do you face the discomfort of creating meaningful change, or do you endure the challenges of declining health?
This is where our Dietitians at Edge Nutrition step in. We are here to guide you on your wellness journey, helping you discover habits and routines that make going against the flow more manageable. Together, we’ll find strategies to make your path to health not only achievable but sustainable, even in the face of these challenges.
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