Research shows more than half of Irish men are obese

Ireland is the only country in Europe with a higher proportion of overweight men than women, research today revealed.

More than half of the country's men are overweight, compared to just 32% of women.

The findings in a new national study revealed that the typical Irish male is leading an unhealthy lifestyle with potentially damaging health consequences.

Of the men questioned 76% said they had never been on a diet, even though 30% of these considered themselves to be overweight.

The survey by Abbott Laboratories found that 18% of men over the age of 25 watched on average between 16 and 20 hours of television per week, compared with just 8% of women.

Married men were found to be the worst offenders, exercising less, watching more television and spending more time in their cars.

In total almost 20% of the married men surveyed were either overweight or obese compared with just 6% of single men.

A third of those who watched 20 hours or more of television a week claimed they did not take part in physical activity because they did not have the time.

Young men were the most active of all the groups with 88% of 15- to 24-year-olds engaging in physical exercise, compared with just 41% of men over 50.

The survey found that in general Irish people were aware that an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise were contributing factors to obesity.

However there was a lack of awareness of the health risks associated with being overweight, with only 26% of respondents aware that diabetes could be caused by excessive weight.

Researchers questioned 1,000 adults about their lifestyle and diet habits for the survey, giving an even representation of the adult population in the Republic of Ireland.

Dr Donal O’Shea, consultant endocrinologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin attended the launch of the survey in Dublin.

He said: “This survey provides a very important insight into just how inactive we have become as a nation.

“The rise in diabetes and heart disease is directly linked to weight gain and people really need to understand that your chance of having a stroke or a heart attack is three times higher if you are obese compared to normal weight.

“People are not aware of the level at which obesity begins for themselves and it is clear from this survey that a lot of people who think they are slightly overweight are in fact obese.”