The Waterloo region may be known to have a population with some of the lowest blood pressure rates in the country, but when it comes to fitness, exercising, and eating the right foods, there’s not much to be proud of really.

Recent statistics from the Canadian Community Health Survey indicate that from 2008, cities and towns in the Region of Waterloo—Cambridge being one of them—ranked second best in all of Ontario for good blood pressure rates, with only 12 percent in the whole region suffering from hypertension.

However, the Waterloo region also scored low in other areas of importance. 36 health units in the region were surveyed, and the health experts found out that:

• Waterloo ranked 11^th for daily and occasional smoking, with 21.7% saying they are heavy smokers.
• Waterloo also ranked 17^th in the whole province for obesity and overweight rates, with a whopping 55% of the entire population belonging to the category.
• Out of all the regions in the province, Waterloo ranked 33^rd for physical activity, with 55.1% of the population in the region saying they hardly exercised at all.

Armed with this data, health officials in the region are encouraging the local governments to encourage their constituents to live healthy and active lifestyles.