Growing up in Ireland - Children’s health key to the future

Growing Up in Ireland is a national study of 8,500 nine-year-old children conducted over a seven-year period. The first results were published yesterday.

The report makes interesting though often predictable reading. The aim was not to find out things about children that would not have been known but to acquire a deeper understanding of what is happening.

Few will be surprised that more boys engaged in sports than girls, or that girls are more involved in cultural activities, like dancing, music, arts and drama, or that girls tend to spend more time reading. The real insights of the report are the actual statistics provided.

In Britain they have been conducting such studies since 1946. Subsequent studies can, therefore, be compared and contrasted to determine trends and developments. High quality data is necessary to make decisions about policy and the provision of services.

The study will become more valuable as time goes on and further studies are conducted. The fact that 84% of boys take part in clubs, as opposed to 66% of girls, or that 65% of girls engaged in cultural activities compared to 31% of boys, could well take on more relevance if those figures shift in future studies.

In recent years, Irish female athletes have been excelling and it will be interesting to note whether the number participating in sport increases to any significant degree. Such information is vital for a perceptive planning process, because it requires insight into trends in order to anticipate likely developments.

This is important because one of the more disturbing findings is the number of children who are too heavy. Almost one in five children are overweight, with a further 7% classified as obese. This could have health consequences for those children in adulthood. The weight problems are mainly attributed to the intake of high-calories, or high-fat snack foods.

Children’s eating habits are heavily influenced by parental education. The children of parents with higher education levels eat more fruit and vegetables. The importance of diet is particularly apparent in the report. The fact that around 20% of children are overweight could have serious consequences in later life. Medical authorities have long recognised that the diet of children, even babies, has a subsequent impact. Hence it is noteworthy that the latest study includes data on 10,000 nine-month-old babies.

If other studies had been conducted earlier, the consequences would be more apparent now. One obvious question is what steps are being taken to inform people about the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. This study could provide grounds for the inclusion of diet as part of the examination curriculum for everyone in secondary school.

The €26 million spent on the report may seem excessive in the midst of all the cutbacks, but it could prove an invaluable tool in determining where we are going and what needs to be done to improve the lifestyle and future prospects of our children.