Irish schools are leading the fight against childhood obesity

Irish people are getting fatter as our lifestyles become more sedentary. So what are primary and post primary schools doing to make sure our kids grow into adults and teenagers who don’t want to lie around on a coach, asks Caroline Allen

The obesity epidemic is a serious problem but inactivity is a far bigger killer, according to Fergal Lyons, President of the Physical Education Association of Ireland. He’s not alone in his opinion. The manager of Ireland’s international athletics team, Patsy McGonagle, has accused the Government of doing nothing to improve physical activity amongst children. He says we need daily physical education in all schools, primary and secondary.

So how far from that are we? What is the state of PE in Irish primary and post primary schools?