Tag Archives: obesity

New cross-party group seeks greater efforts to counter childhood obesity and food poverty

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A new cross party Oireachtas group set up to seek a more effective policy response to the twin problems of childhood obesity and food poverty was launched in Dublin today.

The Oireachtas Children’s Future Health Group, chaired by Independent Senator Jillian van Turnhout, was launched by RTE presenter Miriam O’Callaghan, along with Irish Heart Foundation spokesman and consultant endocrinologist, Professor Donal O’Shea.

The group is being established amid growing concern across the political spectrum over the health status of children in Ireland at a time when one in four children are overweight or obese and one in five children go to bed hungry at night. The Irish Heart Foundation is providing a secretariat, along with expertise to support the group, which is also being assisted by organisations, including the Children’s Rights Alliance, Healthy Food for All and Social Justice Ireland.

The members of the informal group include: Senator Ivana Bacik (Labour), Deputy Clare Daly (Technical Group), Deputy Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fail), Deputy Sandra McLellan (Sinn Fein) and Deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor (Fine Gael).

“To date actions to tackle obesity have focused on individual behaviour change through education, awareness and media programmes. But these don’t take into account the key drivers of obesity – the increasing availability and intense marketing of unhealthy food and drinks that are becoming cheaper all the time compared to healthy produce,” said Senator van Turnhout.

“Meanwhile, as the numbers living in food poverty grow, health workers are seeing more and more children who are obese and undernourished at the same time – a phenomenon of modern malnutrition.”

Senator van Turnhout said the objective of the Oireachtas group was to develop proposals for actions which tackle the root causes of childhood obesity – particularly those recognising that childhood obesity and food poverty must be addressed in tandem and that solutions must be primarily targeted at disadvantaged communities.

“The disparity between social classes is demonstrated in the Growing Up in Ireland study which shows that among nine-year-olds, whilst 19% of boys and 18% of girls from professional households are overweight or obese, the rate soars to 29% of boys and 38% of girls from semi-skilled and unskilled households.

“For parents who cannot make ends meet, the worry isn’t feeding their children well, it’s feeding them at all. One recent study shows the cost of a healthy calorie is up to ten times higher than an unhealthy one and it’s high time we woke up to the fact that if we don’t help these families, we are condemning increasing numbers of children to lives dominated by ill-health, chronic disease and ultimately an early grave.”

Specific areas the Oireachtas group will be examining include taxation to fund programmes such as fruit and vegetable subsidies and community food initiatives, school food provision, no fry zones around schools, addressing the impact of low incomes on health eating, food labelling and marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children. Later this year the group will launch the first ever study on food marketing to children via the Internet and social media, which is currently being carried out for the Irish Heart Foundation.

Professor Donal O’Shea, consultant endocrinologist and member of the Irish Heart Foundation Nutrition Council said: “I see this group as strong cross party support for the full implementation of the Healthy Ireland Framework – ensuring that Healthy Ireland will continue beyond the life of this Government. It is really hard to understand why there has been so little sustained action to tackle obesity to date. It is the number one public health issue facing the developed world in terms of driving diabetes, heart disease, cancer and depression. Doctors are seeing confirmation of this daily even in children with boys and girls in primary school suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, painful joint conditions and rapidly increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes.”

Speaking before the launch of the group, Miriam O’Callaghan added: “Children and their parents are constantly being bombarded by strategies to encourage them to consume more: Product placement in stores, attractive packaging, toys with fast food meals, promotions to buy one-get-one-free, prizes, discounts, supersizing. As a mother I know well how hard it is to resist such marketing and it’s clear that solutions to childhood obesity must address the fact that treat food and drinks are increasingly being consumed as if they were a staple part of children’s diets.”

Mitchell O’Connor urges TDs and Senators to support the HEALTH initiative to make the nation healthier

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Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire TD and member of the Oireachtas Health Committee, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, is calling on TDs and Senators to support the HEALTH initiative to help make their constituents healthier. The initiative has been developed the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI) as part of Nourish Ireland Week.

“I am delighted to team up with the INDI for this worthwhile initiative and I am calling on other TDs and Senators to get behind it too. As elected representatives, we can act as messengers and health ambassadors in every county across the country.

“It is time that we as a nation that we faced up to our obesity problem. One in four Irish adults is obese. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the level of obesity here increased by a massive 67%. We now have a situation where one in five Irish five to twelve year olds is overweight or obese. We must constantly look at new ways to address this escalating problem.

“The INDI wants to get TDs and Senators on board to help spread the message about healthy eating and to use our influence as public representatives to support the development of a nutrition policy for Ireland.

“Poor nutrition and bad diet choices are impacting on our daily lives, and they are costing the country billions. Not only does being overweight have an impact on your self-esteem, it has a major impact on your health.

“Being overweight can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. We need to ensure we are all armed with the facts. The INDI is explaining to TDs and Senators about how they can help to make the nation healthier and I hope we can all play a role in making this a reality.”

Mitchell O’Connor supports UK expert’s call for health warning on sugary drinks

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Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire TD and member of the Oireachtas Health Committee, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today (Thursday) backed a call for prominent health warnings to be displayed on sugary drinks. The proposal has been made by one of the UK’s leading experts on public health, Professor Simon Capewell of the University of Liverpool.

“We need to take radical steps if we are serious about tackling our spiralling obesity problem. We now know that many people are drinking more calories than they are eating; high sugar drinks are significantly contributing to our obesity problem, and they do more damage to health than many people realise.

“Professor Capewell has suggested that the UK should follow California’s lead by placing health warnings on sugary drinks. I believe Ireland should do the same; we have been a world leader in introducing tobacco control measures to reduce smoking, now it’s time we lead the field in anti-obesity measures.

“A recent European study showed that adults who drank more than one can of sugary fizzy drinks a day had a 22% higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes than those who drank less than a can a month.

“Professor Ivan Perry of University College Cork has previously pointed out that more than 1,000 deaths from heart disease or strokes could be prevented each year in Ireland if a few simple steps were taken. Cutting down on salt, sugars and fats in processed food would reduce the death rate considerably.

“We need to give consumers as much information as possible, so they can make responsible decisions about the food and drink they buy. Stark warnings on cigarette packets leave us in no doubt about the consequences of smoking. Why do we not take the same approach to other products which can cause diabetes, heart disease and stroke?

“Information needs to be very clear, graphic and hard hitting. I believe that a two litre bottle of fizzy soft drink, for example, should have a hard-hitting warning with words and pictures which take up at least 25% of the available labelling space. We cannot continue to tolerate the negative impact high sugar drinks are having on the nation’s health.”

 

Growing Up In Ireland survey reveals worrying child obesity rates

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Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire Deputy, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today (Tuesday) said the results of the Growing Up In Ireland survey, which measures, among other things, the level of obesity among Irish children, are worrying and indicate the amount of work that has to be done in educating parents and addressing this critical health issue.

The Growing Up in Ireland survey examines the factors contributing to and undermining the well-being of Irish five year olds with a view to formatting policy and services that best suits our children’s needs. The results are the first of their kind for this age group.

“Findings from the Growing Up In Ireland survey show that one in five children are overweight or obese, and that this figure increases to one in four for those aged three. These are exceptionally worrying statistics which are storing up chronic health problems for our children later in life.

“I recently attended a conference which focused on the nutrition a child receives in the first 1,000 days of his/her life; from conception to two years old. The impact of the decisions we make in terms of what we feed our children and the encouragement we give them to lead more active lives lays the foundations for the their future health.

“Conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and certain cancers are all linked to obesity and being overweight and we can greatly reduce a child’s chance of suffering from ill health if we take their nutrition seriously and give it the attention it deserves.

“Safefood recently launched a campaign aimed at educating parents to make certain lifestyle changes associated with portion sizes for children, the amount of sugary drinks we give them and the amount of screen time they are allowed. It is so unfair to give our children such a poor start in life simply by giving them the wrong foods.

“As the principal of a National School, I saw first-hand how important good nutrition was in giving children the best possible opportunity to develop and concentrate. And the children who had a good breakfast before coming to school were easily identifiable from those who did not.

“The results of this survey, which has been commissioned by the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald TD, give us a magnificent insight into the areas that need most attention, allowing us to chart the best way forward for our children. It is evident from the results published today that childhood obesity must be prioritised to ensure that we are not storing up problems for the future.”

Nutrition during first 1,000 days dictates health for the rest of a child’s life

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Fine Gael Dún Laoghaire TD, Mary Mitchell O’ Connor, has highlighted the importance of good nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. Deputy Mitchell O’Connor was speaking at a medical symposium in Dublin today titled Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days.

“The nourishment that we give our children for the first 1,000 days of their lives will dictate their health or otherwise for the rest of their lives. Early life nutrition dictates whether or not your baby grows up to:

· be a healthy or unhealthy adult;
· be obese;
· have heart disease;
· have diabetes.

“In encouraging women in this regard, a focus needs to be placed on supporting women to eat well during pregnancy, to breastfeed for as long as possible and to take the appropriate steps for weaning and then for feeding a toddler.

“By the time the baby is born, it has been nourished for almost 300 days. This, combined with combined with the nutrition they will receive for the next 700 days will affect their health for the rest of their lives.

“Breast milk is commonly known as the ‘magic potion for health’ and there is irrefutable evidence that breast-fed babies are less likely to be obese and less likely to develop health problems, such as high cholesterol, diabetes and stroke in their adult lives.

“Yet Ireland still ranks way down the international breast-feeding scale, with fewer than half of new Irish mothers initiating breast-feeding, compared to 80% in the UK and 90% in the Scandinavian countries. As a community, we need to eliminate the stigma surrounding breast-feeding that has existed in Ireland for so long.

“Every year 2,000 people die in Ireland due to obesity related diseases. That is about ten times the average number of people who are killed on our roads. These people don’t need to die because of bad nutrition. The annual cost of obesity is estimated to be a staggering €1.13 billion.

“As a society, we need to focus more on the importance of early life nutrition. As a legislator and member of the Oireachtas Health Committee, I will do everything I can to promote this hugely important message.”

11/11/2013