Obesity fight gets €3m boost
The Government has allocated €3m in funding to tackle obesity next year, it was confirmed today.
Junior Health Minister Sean Power also announced that a National Nutrition Policy for the next 10 years will be published in 2006.
The strategy will promote healthy eating and regular exercise among under-18s and also aim to reduce food poverty.
Mr Power today also launched a national ’Take 5 Steps to a Healthier You’ campaign against obesity which runs until November 30.
It urges children to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day and take regular exercise several times a week.
Nationwide activities will include the distribution of leaflets and posters to schools, workplaces and health professionals.
Research published today by the Health Promotion Unit has shown that young people are well informed about the dangers of obesity but fail to eat healthy food.
The study was conducted by Lansdowne Market Research among young people aged 11-14, and showed an alarming disparity in activity levels between boys and girls.
Boys in this age group were regularly active and involved in games and sports but girls showed little interest in any form of activity.
Mr Power expressed concern over the levels of inactivity of young girls aged 13-14 and said the departments of Health and Children, together with Education and Science, must work together to help young girls maintain their physical activity patterns into post primary school.
Mr Power added that young peoples needed supportive environments at home and at school to help them make healthy choices.
He also said he regretted that children were still being served a staple diet of processed food.
“I recognise that there is a place for quick, convenient foods, but that doesn’t necessarily mean having to make unhealthy choices.
“Parents have a huge responsibility to their children as it is clear that they are the driving force in relation to the formation of early habits. Parents foster attitudes to food and indeed physical activity.”
The Kildare TD pointed out that eating fruit and vegetables can help protect against heart disease, cancer and other major illnesses.
“Getting children into the habit of choosing an apple, a banana or a carton of fruit juice as a regular snack food, instead of choosing high fat, high sugar foods and drinks, will help reduce the threat of overweight or obesity.”
The Lansdowne Market Research study, which were carried out in Dublin, Cork and
Galway, demonstrated children’s in depth knowledge of a healthy lifestyle with healthy eating, regular activity, not smoking and drinking lots of water evolving as the ‘definition’ of a healthy person.
Homer Simpson, who eats high fat foods and snacks and ‘uses a stick to change TV stations’, was defined as an unhealthy person.
More information is available on the department’s national campaign on the website, www.healthysteps.ie.
