New study suggests majority of Canadians have health issues they don't know about
Summer has arrived, and with it, comes the usual wave of motivation. You close your rings. You track your sleep. You hit 10,000 steps like it’s your job. But, what if your wearable is only showing you the surface of your health?
A new report called “Blind Spot: Canada’s Health Data Paradox” from Canadian proactive health platform NiaHealth has revealed a surprising truth: 90 per cent of people who completed full biomarker testing discovered an issue they weren’t previously aware of.
Most of these health risks had gone undetected through standard annual checkups, wellness routines, or surface-level tracking tools — which means that even if you’re on top of your wellness game, you could be missing key health risks.
Finding what you didn’t know to look for
The NiaHealth report analyzed clinical results from over 2,200 Canadians and found some pretty interesting stats.
Almost half (48 per cent) were vitamin D deficient, 47 per cent had early signs of reduced kidney function, and 30 per cent showed signs of pre-diabetes. Most of these participants reported feeling healthy and were already engaging in health-conscious behaviours.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though! The thing is, all of these issues are treatable and often reversible with basic lifestyle tweaks — if you know about them.
Your health upgraded
The healthcare system wasn’t built for prevention, but maybe it should be.
Flipping the script, NiaHealth helps people connect the dots between how they feel and what’s really going on inside, using real clinical data.
With plans starting at $299 per year, members get access to at-home lab testing and clinician-reviewed results. More importantly, they get access to a specially-trained clinician for a one-on-one virtual consult to build a personalized health plan based on your lab results, fitness wearable data, and family history.
It starts with a simple blood test, done either at home or at a nearby clinic. That sample is then analyzed in combination with your current lifestyle habits, fitness wearable data, and family history across more than 150 biomarkers, and results are reviewed by a licensed nurse practitioner.
Preventative healthcare doesn’t mean jumping on crazy health and wellness trends that have you drinking olive oil by the gallon or swapping blood with your dad. It’s about catching things early, and adapting with strategies that help prevent disease thats evidence-based.
And this is all without sitting in the waiting room at your family doctor (which is something over 6.5 million Canadians currently don’t have, by the way), with the convenience of at-home testing.
Proof that prevention can work
As part of NiaHealth’s Blind Spot study, it explored the idea of using patient-generated data not as an endpoint, but as the beginning of care.
Based on this concept, they developed a model that integrated diagnostics, wearable devices, and clinician-guided interpretation. Good news: A small group of first-year members underwent follow-up testing after one year and the early results showed encouraging trends.
As many as 45 per cent improved their cardiovascular biomarkers, 37 per cent improved kidney function, and 27 per cent improved their metabolic health markers.
As Tanya ter Keurs, NiaHealth’s Clinical Director and Co-Founder, suggests, small daily habits can make a big difference.
Her top tips?
For many people, it could include increasing fibre intake, spending at least 10 minutes outside daily for vitamin D, not ignoring persistent fatigue (which could be caused by low ferritin or vitamin B12), or making smart choices around alcohol consumption.
Ready to take action? Check out NiaHealth, Canada’s leading proactive health platform, now and take your first step toward empowered health.
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