MORE THAN a third of secondary schools rely on commercial sponsorship for physical education, sports and computer equipment, a new study found.

Just over one third of post primary schools have a healthy eating policy, it emerged today.

There is clearly an urgent need for the Government to take control of the problem of obesity in the country’s children because it is obviously not the concern of just one Government department or agency.

THE nightmare scenario facing modern Ireland is clear: unless children stop eating so much junk food and do more exercise, they risk dying before their parents do.

Obese Irish children could grow up with shorter life-expectancies than their parents, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.

CHILDREN should be taught to cook from a young age as part of the solution to the growing obesity problem, a top chef said yesterday.

Children should be taught to cook from a young age as part of the solution to the growing obesity problem, a top chef said today.

Children as young as five are becoming obese on a unhealthy fat and sugar filled diet, a shocking survey revealed today.

Claire O’Sullivan

Food vending machines should be banned in primary schools and more physical activity offered in a bid to tackle the growing obesity epidemic among children, a new report urged today.

The Government's National Taskforce on Obesity has reportedly recommended a range of sweeping measures to improve diet and physical health across the country

OBESITY levels in children have tripled in just over a decade, with the number of those overweight doubling in the same period, a nationwide survey of 20,000 students has found.

WITH obesity responsible for about 2,500 deaths in Ireland annually, a recent survey again graphically illustrates that the problem has to be addressed with urgency, especially in young people.

Bemused shoppers could only stand by and watch today as five TDs hit the supermarket in search of the ultimate healthy lifestyle.

Obesity levels among Irish people can lead to several forms of cancer here, a joint All-Ireland and US conference was told today.

LEADING figures from the two Government partners fell out yesterday over a matter of national interest — obesity.

The Government has launched a crackdown on the country’s fast-growing obesity crisis.