Dr Catherine Conlon: Pandemic fuelled obesity — what is the answer?

We need robust legislation to steer changes so that food outlets offer and promote tasty healthier choices, but parents must also be empowered, writes Catherine Conlon

Under one initiative, instead of being asked what vegetable they want for dinner, children might be asked whether they want carrots or broccoli. 

The last four decades have seen a tenfold increase in childhood obesity and this has been further exacerbated by the pandemic. Global childhood obesity rose from less than 1% in 1975 to nearly 6% in girls and nearly 8% in boys by 2016. The pandemic has added fuel to the fire.

For adults, the new weight-loss drug, Wegovy — recently approved for use in Ireland  — offers real hope for significant weight-loss and health gain for those who use it long term. But it is not going to address the underlying problem: the obesogenic environment.