How Do You Measure Up to the Average Canadian? Ottawa Weighs In

Ottawa Instagram account @shottawa.tv has put a simple question to its followers this week: how do you compare to the average Canadian?

The post, shared on October 7, points to Statistics Canada data on body size. It's the kind of number most of us have wondered about at some point, and it has people in Ottawa checking themselves against it.

The numbers

According to the figures cited in the post, Canadian men average around 5 feet 9 inches and 187 pounds. Women average around 5 feet 4 inches and 151 pounds.

In metric, that works out to roughly 175 cm and 85 kg for men, and about 163 cm and 68 kg for women. Those conversions are ours, rounded to the nearest centimetre and kilogram.

Measured, not guessed

The detail worth noticing is how the numbers were gathered. The post notes that the figures are based on physically measured height and weight, rather than Canadians simply reporting their own numbers.

That matters because people tend to round in their own favour when they answer a survey. A tape measure and a scale don't. When you see an average built from measurements, it's a more reliable picture of what people are actually like.

An average is not a target

An average describes the middle of a very wide range. Plenty of healthy, active people in Ottawa sit well above or below these figures, and the numbers say nothing about any one person's health. Treat them as a point of reference, not a goal.

If you want the full picture, the underlying data is published by Statistics Canada, and the post is a handy pointer to it.

Join the conversation

The post asks followers to share where they land. It's a light, low-stakes conversation starter, and the comments are open for anyone who wants to weigh in.

Source: Instagram post by @shottawa.tv, citing Statistics Canada data.