WHO warns on Irish obesity - New tactics to win war on fat

ALARM bells have been ringing so loudly and for so very long about the escalating obesity epidemic that it is difficult to make the kind of impression that might help avert the crisis.

Anyone trying to fight an out-of-control weight gain will confirm it is a particularly difficult struggle, one more often lost than won. This has not only physical implications but is deeply dispiriting and undermines self-esteem. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Europe is facing an unprecedented explosion of obesity and excess weight — and we are leading the charge to the XL shirt rack.

By 2030 we will, according to the WHO, face an obesity crisis of “enormous proportions”. The research anticipates that being overweight will be almost universal in this society. By 2030, the proportion of obese and overweight men in Ireland is expected to hit 89%, just 85% for women. The forecast puts Irish men at the top of an “overweight” table of 53 countries, matched only by Uzbekistan.