Children become obese at five, says study
Children as young as five are becoming obese on a unhealthy fat and sugar filled diet, a shocking survey revealed today.
The major probe into Irish children’s diets showed over 40% of young people are consuming too much fat, while the intake of fruit and vegetables has dipped well below international recommendations.
Mary Coughlan, the Agriculture and Food Minister, said the ’Scientific Study on Children’s Diet’ would provide firm direction to establish the nutrition strategies which are urgently needed to tackle obesity.
Around 9% of five to 12-year-old boys and 13% of girls in that age group are obese, according to the study.
Recent figures have revealed around 300,000 Irish children are now obese.
Professor Albert Flynn of the Department of Nutritional Science in University College Cork said the data would be used to underpin the development of the 93 recommendations issued by the National Taskforce on Obesity earlier this week.
“We need better guidelines on what foods are the most appropriate foods and in what quantities for children in this age group, particularly to help parents,” he said.
“We must find ways that we can improve the food choices of children from the earlier age.”
The first scientific study of children’s diets in Ireland, which surveyed and measured 600 young people aged five to 12-years from primary schools throughout Ireland, found that weight increase and obesity was already high and on the rise.
The obesity taskforce’s report urged greater physical activity for young people and the banning of vending machines in primary schools.
The report worryingly pointed towards an increase in the number of children presenting with Type 2 Diabetes, which can be caused by a high sugar diet.
The dietary study showed children are drinking around two glasses of high-sugar soft drinks a day, while calories are mainly consumed from bread, snacks, dairy, meat, potatoes and soft drinks.
Dr Sinead McCarthy of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, who co-ordinated the study, said: “The home environment is critical in shaping eating behaviour and physical activity habits in this age group.”
The study, carried out by the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance and funded by the Department of Agriculture, found that eating at home was the main source of calories.
It also highlighted that family could strongly influence the diet and amount of physical activity children took part in.
A high number of children were involved in physical activities in and out of school but one in three were spending more than two hours watching television on weekdays.
The study found the amount of salt consumed daily was higher than the levels recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) – mainly due to processed meats and bread.
Significant numbers of children had inadequate intakes of calcium, iron and vitamins, while the average consumption of milk was low at about half a pint a day.
