Unhealthy living ‘costing State €1.8bn’

LACK of exercise and unhealthy eating habits are costing the taxpayer up to €1.8 billion annually, a health conference was warned yesterday.

Speaking at a Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF) conference, Dr Muireann Cullen said while it was easy to call on the Government to intervene, in reality it was up to people to eat and exercise sensibly.

The mammoth cost to the taxpayer, she said, was based on Irish research showing the numbers of people not getting the recommended levels of exercise, and on British research citing the financial impact of such unhealthy practices.