More than 200 people in Ireland hospitalised for obesity last year

Susie Birney, Executive Director for the Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity, said some of the conditions associated with obesity are not commonly spoken about.

More than 200 people in Ireland were admitted to hospital for obesity last year, according to Freedom of Information figures.

The figures have indicated that 113 patients were over the age of 45; 61 were aged between 25 and 44; seven patients were aged between 16 and 24; and 26 of the patients were under the age of 16. One hundred and twenty-four of the patients were female and 83 were male.

The figures were released to Newstalk and Susie Birney, Executive Director for the Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity, told the station that some of the conditions associated with obesity are well known, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

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“But there is quite a few that aren’t commonly spoken about and you have the likes of polycystic ovarian cancer syndrome, you have sleep apnoea, and endometrial cancer has quite a high prevalence among the obese."

She stressed that people who want to lose weight should be given every resource and support.

“They will have tried and tested probably everything for their weight over the years. And people see it as ‘they failed at diets’. It’s not, it’s just they haven’t found the right treatment.

"If you live with obesity it’s a chronic relapsing disease that unfortunately you have for life."

Great to see this obesity stigma in Ireland report being published.
Of over 1,000:
77% of PwO felt stigmatised due to their weight.
75% felt family/friends have cast judgement.
62% report being discriminated against by a HCP in the previous 12 mths. https://t.co/s5lBmXdylT

— ICPO (@ICPObesity) August 4, 2022

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization European regional obesity report published earlier this year, Ireland ranks ninth of 53 European countries for obesity in adults and 11th for overweight and obesity.

Irish five- to nine-year-olds rank ninth for overweight and obesity while 10- to 19-year-olds rank 10th.

Being overweight or obese is the fourth most common risk factor for non-infectious disease, after high blood pressure, diet and tobacco, according to the report, and it is the leading risk factor for disability.