500% rise in obesity among Irish boys

THE number of Irish boys who are obese has increased by half to almost one in six in just four years despite their being among the most physically active in Europe.

The number of 15-year-old girls who are obese has dropped slightly in the same period, but one in ten is still dangerously overweight.

Even if these young people lose weight now, their lifetime health has been compromised and they are at greater risk of cardiovascular problems as adults, according to a study from the EU and OECD.

They are also more likely to become obese in adulthood with the hugely increased risk of contracting cancer, osteoarthritis, a reduced quality of life and premature death.

The figures do not bode well for the future as a quarter of all adults are now obese — the second highest proportion in Europe, topped only by the British.

Youngsters are also adopting the bad habits of their elders with one in five 15-year-olds saying they smoke at least once a week.

The proportion of the adult population smoking is the third highest in Europe at 29%, with just the Bulgarians and the Greeks being heavier smokers.

The number of Irish men smoking increased by 7% — the highest increase in males in the EU, while about 4% of Irish women gave up smoking between 1995 and 2008.

In 1990 among the 17 countries for which data is available Irish people had the eighth highest tobacco consumption in 1990, and less than two decades later — the normal time lag for cancer to develop — the Irish lung cancer rate was the seventh highest.

Irish 15-year-olds were ranked 13th in the list for drunkenness while those over 15 came further up the table at seventh in terms of alcohol consumption.