BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Canadian doctors are urged to use alternative techniques such as tape measures to screen every adult and child over age 10 to help fight Canada's growing obesity problem.

    The idea is contained in the first-ever report prepared by Canada published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

    The report recommends that waist circumference be measured in all Canadian adults, and that a national surveillance system be developed that incorporates this measurement along with height and weight.

    "Where the fat is sitting matters as much as how much fat there is," said David Lau, the president of Obesity Canada and chairman of the guidelines committee.

    "Waist circumference should be considered a new vital sign that's just as important as taking blood pressure, and measuring lipid and blood sugar levels," he added.

    According to Lau, almost 60 percent of Canadians are either overweight or obese, and one out of four children are overweight, with one in 10 being classified as being obese.

    "We are now seeing obesity occurring in children at an alarming rate," Lau said Monday from Calgary. He noted that endocrinologists are seeing overweight and obese teens with health conditions that at one time were seen primarily in adults, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

    Lau said the recommendations are a first step in giving family doctors and other health providers better tools for helping overweight patients to shed excess pounds and keep them off -- and to prevent others from piling them on in the first place.

    "Obesity is no longer a personal issue. It's a social and public health issue," Lau said.

    (Agencies)