Martin warns on problem of obesity

OBESITY could become Ireland’s number one health problem within the next 10 years, the Minister for Health Micheál Martin said yesterday.

The Minister, launching a major public awareness campaign to highlight the increase of overweight and obesity in the Irish population, described the problem as having the potential to be the “major epidemic of the next decade.”

Mr Martin said the evidence showed that it already posed a risk in Irish society, with direct links to dramatic rises in the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.