Sports-mad nation faces obesity crisis - Food labelling

AS Europe plummets towards a crisis of obesity, it should come as no surprise, especially following a series of alarming reports showing how explosive the scenario is here, that Irish people are hell-bent on becoming the fattest in the EU. Yet, considering what a sports-mad country this is, it is surprising and an apparent contradiction.

This nation’s abiding interest in sport was seen on Sunday when a crowd of over 80,000 fans flocked to Croke Park for the football clash between Mayo and Dublin. But, sadly, it seems our sporting image exists in name only. Fast becoming a nation of couch potatoes, sitting and watching a game, preferably with a pint or a snack in hand, is what we do best.

Obesity is now turning out to be such a colossal problem in Ireland that it has the potential to completely overwhelm the country’s heath service, already over-stretched, under-staffed and underfunded as it is. The gravity of the obesity crisis was underlined earlier this year by a Europe-wide report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and it is worth recalling the scary statistics for this country which showed the proportion of obese women in the Republic, growing from 23% to 57%, an alarming increase by any standard.