Word out of Ottawa is that Canadians are not eating healthy enough.

Statistics Canada released its first national survey of dietary habits since the 1970s, titled Canadian Community Health Survey: Nutrition, the largest such study conducted that focuses on Canadians’ eating habits.

Our first reaction was, “great, another study showing we each too much fast food,” similar to us being told that drinking and driving is dangerous, as is speeding.

Like, didn’t we already know that? Apparently not, because the numbers in this study are troublesome.

The survey says Canadians are skipping out on fruits and vegetables, not getting enough milk products in their diets, and that many are getting their recommended requirement of calories from fat.

In our province, 23 per cent of B.C. adults get too many calories from fat. Nearly one out of every four children in our province doesn’t consume enough dairy products while close to one-quarter of the kids consume too much of them.

A pair of numbers that are particularly puzzling, especially for an area such as the Okanagan, where fruit and vegetables are a staple, shows 62 per cent of kids aged six to 18, and 42 per cent of adults, eat too few fruits and vegetables.

On a national level, 20 per cent of adults are eating the recommended four or five servings daily of fruits and veggies, while seven out of 10 kids aged four to eight are not meeting the standard.

The numbers are worrisome to dietitians across the country, who have been trying to make it known for years that a balanced diet is essential to a healthy lifestyle.

Obviously it bears repeating.

Vernon Morning Star