Who are you calling fat? Canadians may be losing the battle of the bulge, but were still slimmer on average than our supersized cousins to the south.

A new Statistics Canada survey found that between 2007 and 2009, 24.1 per cent of adults in Canada were obese. In that U.S., that number was 34.4 per cent.

The gap was widest for women: 23.9 per cent of Canadian women qualified as obese, compared to 36.2 per cent of American women. Of Canadian men, 24.3 per cent were obese, while 32.6 per cent of American men tipped the scales.

But Canadians have no reason to feel smug about their comparative lack of bulk, said one obesity doctor.

Dr. Arya Sharma, professor of medicine and chair for cardiovascular obesity research and management at the University of Alberta, said Canada is eating its way into a public health crisis.

“We’re not where the Americans are yet, but the numbers are still very alarming,” he said. “When you consider the medical costs of obesity, of treating related cases of diabetes, heart disease, hip and knee replacements, its clear that we have a serious problem.”

Girth of a nation: Canada trails U.S. in obesity rates