Obesity problem - Children must lead a more active life

WITH obesity responsible for about 2,500 deaths in Ireland annually, a recent survey again graphically illustrates that the problem has to be addressed with urgency, especially in young people.

An all-island survey of 20,000 schoolchildren in different age groups and grades, revealed results that emphasise that there exists a problem of startling proportions.

In the past four years, the number of obese children has tripled from 5% to 15%, and the number of fat children has doubled to 30%.

As a member of the National Taskforce on Obesity, Dr Helen Whelton was not exaggerating when she described the results of the survey as “horrendous.”

Ireland already has the fourth-highest incidence of overweight and obesity in men, and the seventh-highest prevalence in women in the European Union, which can only get worse unless the problem is tackled in young children.

It is a fact that an obese child is twice as likely to become an obese adult, and as a country, action will have to be taken sooner rather than later, to prevent the eventual emergence of a nation of grossly overweight people.

Apart from resulting in the deaths of some people, it is a well-established fact that obesity is directly associated with serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, many forms of cancer and high blood pressure.

It is a condition that can be arrested by a change of lifestyle and eating habits but, unfortunately, that is much easier said than done.

Former Health Minister Micheál Martin recognised obesity as “one of Ireland’s most serious health problems,” second after smoking and his intention was to undertake a major campaign to eliminate it.

In contrast, his successor in the portfolio, Tánaiste Mary Harney, delegated the obesity problem to a junior minister, but it is one that should be pursued at a senior level.

The Government could, and should, be making a much bigger effort to highlight the dangers of the problem, because it is a national one with the potential of having a very serious impact on the health service.

While the Government and schools have a role to play, parents have a vital one which should be evidenced by example and influence, by encouraging children to lead a more active life.

There is a lot of common sense in the statement made by University of Limerick president Professor Roger Downer over the weekend, although it was in a different context.

He said that young people today, with their video games and overly-protective parents, may not be exposed to risk and decision-making as his generation was. He is right, in the sense that children are allowed to spend far too much time playing video games or watching television, which bombards them with a deluge of advertising for the wrong types of food.

The risk-taking activities the professor was referring to were merely climbing trees or riding a bike, some of the normal activities which, unfortunately, are not much in evidence as they once were.