‘Poor layout of communities contributing to obesity’

The layout of Ireland’s towns and villages must be overhauled if the country is to adequately tackle the growing obesity crisis.

The claim was made by health experts at a major conference at University College Cork (UCC) which heard that existing community structures are creating serious medical problems for people in later life.

According to the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, less than one in three people currently meet the minimum weekly physical-activity levels for a healthy body.

The independent group — which joined forces with other experts from Queen’s University Belfast and the HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research at UCC — said a key reason for this is the way estates, villages, and towns are developed.

And, calling for a change in direction to address the health problem, it said doing nothing will simply result in obesity, heart and other physical conditions continuing to rise.

“The low level of physical activity across the island has many implications for public health.

“Recent studies suggest that by 2020 there will be large increases in the number of people with obesity-related chronic conditions,” said Dr Kevin Balanda, Institute of Public Health associate director.

“We forecast that, by 2020, there will be 366,000 people with hypertension, 176,000 with diabetes, and 29,000 with stroke.

“It is essential that we reverse this trend; part of the solution is to ensure that our towns and cities are more conducive to walking — in other words are more walkable,” he insisted.

Among the findings revealed at the conference were that just 3% of people living in suburban areas in the greater Cork City area — such as Carrigaline and Ballincollig — walk or cycle to work or school.

UCC-based urban planner, William Brady, said poor community design in these locations — and others across the country — is a key factor in the growing health problems.

“It is the poor design of pedestrian routes and the distances people have to travel to get to basic amenities [that is the cause],” he said.

*For more log onto www.publichealth.ie.