Obesity epidemic - Plucking up the political courage

IMAGINE an Ireland where parents face the prospect of outliving their children and more than a quarter of nine year olds are overweight and suffering from the 21st century disease of obesity.

Regrettably, this disturbing scenario is no longer confined to the realm of imagination — it is the stuff of reality from the pages of Growing Up In Ireland, the latest report on child health, which depicts a vista of junk food outlets at the school gate and also in the heart of low income-type housing estates where grocery shops or supermarkets are thin on the ground.

According to Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald, junk food exclusion zones will now be set up around the country to help tackle the issue of overweight and obese children. These welcome proposals are similar to “no fry zone” measures introduced in Britain. Minister Fitzgerald assures the public that outlawing such outlets near schools was under consideration by the Government. The Coalition is also considering introducing taxes on sugary drinks and fatty foods.

There is a tinge of bitter irony behind such assurances because the present administration is not the first to tell the public about plans to tackle the problem of obesity among Irish children and adults. This is a crisis that has been looming for years but to date little has been done here to combat this disease of modern times.

It will be remembered, for instance, that as far back as 2003, then health minister Micheál Martin announced he was considering imposing a special tax on fatty foods in a bid to combat the problem. Presumably, the lack of progress in delivering on that pledge can be put down to the strong opposition, which the minister predicted he would encounter from various interest groups in the food industry.

No doubt it also explains Health Minister James Reilly’s reference to a “furore” within the food industry today in response to his proposal to impose taxes on sugary drinks and fatty foods. While Minister Reilly has invited manufacturers to discuss the best way to deal with the issue, he has assured the public that such a tax was “absolutely under consideration at the moment”.

Predictably, the report shows that children’s diets were worse in areas that lack grocery shops and large supermarkets but which are abound in fast food takeaways. This represents a serious deficiency in the planning process, which the Government should take immediate steps to remedy in the public interest.

Minister Reilly has put it succinctly when he says: “We do not wish to be the first generation to bury the generation behind us, to live longer than our children.”

No parent wants to bury their child. But every parent has a responsibility to play a more active role in the battle against obesity. Especially when one considers that the health problems confronting overweight children include such serious health conditions as asthma, eczema, diabetes, depression and issues of self-esteem. Moreover, they can go on to develop in later life such lethal conditions as to develop heart disease, stroke and cancer.

It is not good enough for parents merely to expect school teachers to educate their children about the importance of healthy eating…. and leave it at that. If the campaign to tackle childhood obesity is to have any hope of succeeding, this story must begin in the home.