Obesity Levels

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2012

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Questions (649, 650, 651)

Simon Harris

Question:

649. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health his plans to tackle obesity here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52469/12]

Simon Harris

Question:

650. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the statistics available to him in relation to obesity here; the number of Irish adults that are now obese; the number that are men; the number that are women; the way the figures compare to other countries; the level of increase in obesity here in the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52470/12]

Simon Harris

Question:

651. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if there is a specific strategy in place to tackle child obesity; the number of Irish children that are obese; the way this compares to 10 years ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52471/12]

Written answers

Minister for Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 649 to 651, inclusive, together.

Some 61% of Irish adults ( 18-64 years ) are overweight or obese- 70% men and 52% women. Levels of overweight and obesity have increased in the last 20 years, with a rise from 51% in 1990 to 61 % in 2011. In men, the increase was 11% -from 59% to 70%. In women, the increase was also 11% -from 41% to 52%. In adults aged 65 and over, there has been a decrease in obesity, but an increase in overweight over the last 3 to 4 years and this increase in overweight can be seen particularly in men. Almost 8 in every 10 adults 65 years and over are overweight or obese, compared to 6 in 10 adults 18-64 years.

Recent data for overweight and obesity in the European Union (EU 27) compiled by the International Association for the Study of Obesity ranks Ireland as 1st in Europe for overweight and obesity in males (70%) and 4th for females (52%)

Children

There has been a two-to-fourfold increase in overweight and obesity in children aged 8–12 years from 1990 to 2005. Current figures show that 1 in 4 primary school children are overweight or obese and 1 in 5 teenagers are overweight or obese. Girls are more likely to be overweight or obese. The recent Growing Up in Ireland survey found that in children as young as 3 year of age, 1 in 4 are overweight or obese.During 2011, I established a Special Action Group on Obesity comprising key stakeholders and chaired by my own Department. Its remit is to examine and progress a number of issues to address the complex and multi-factorial problem of obesity. It has long been recognised that alone no single initiative will reverse this growing trend, but a combination of measures should make a difference. For this reason the Special Action Group is concentrating on a range of measures including actions such as: calorie posting in restaurants, the introduction of a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, nutritional labelling, marketing of food and drink to children, the supply of healthy food products in vending machines, the detection and treatment of obesity, healthy eating guidelines and the promotion of physical activity. When necessary the Group will liaise with other Departments and organisations in a cross-sectoral approach to help halt the rise in overweight and obesity .