Nutrition & Health Foundation Seminar 2012:

Education Key to Tackling Increasing Childhood Obesity Issue

Enable Adults to Set the Example for Children: St Angela’s College, Sligo participates in annual Nutrition and Health Foundation Seminar

Three out of Four Nine-Year Old Children Don’t Get Enough Physical Activity

·     37% of Irish Adults are overweight and 24% are obese.

·     30% of nine-year-old girls and 22% of nine-year-old boys in Ireland are overweight

·     Only half (51%) of children exercise four or more times per week

Source: Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF), contact Pauline Dooley, Murray Consultants pauline.dooley@murrayconsult.ieTel: (01) 498 0300or 087 773 9750

The cost of obesity in Ireland is €4bn a year and this figure will rise further if the issue is not tackled urgently through a multi-stakeholder approach, the annual seminar of the Nutrition and Health Foundation was told today. Government, consumers, health professionals, industry and all other stakeholders have a responsibility to work together to fix this crisis, the Manager of the NHF dietitian Dr Muireann Cullen told the seminar Obesity: Where Do We Stand and Where Do We Go from Here?

According to Dr. Cullen, now is the time to positively influence the eating and lifestyle habits of the population, enabling adults to lead by example and reverse the shocking trend of childhood obesity.  Dr. Cullen stated:

“Ireland has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe, and 37% of Irish Adults are overweight with 24% obese.  Results from the Growing up in Ireland study (2011) confirm that a sizeable proportion of nine-year-old children in Ireland are overweight: 30% of girls and 22% of boys.  Only half (51%) of children exercise four or more times per week.  This is no surprise when three out of four 9 year old children don’t get the World Health Organisation / National Physical Activity guidelines recommended level of physical activity of 60 minutes per day. Only 21% of girls meet this recommended amount of daily activity”.

Speakers and delegates discussed the role which all sections of society have to play, overcoming differences of approach between groups in the national interest. 

“Obesity will not be dealt with effectively by any one stakeholder or interest group”, said Dr Cullen. “But what will be effective is the acceptance of responsibility by all stakeholders for actions they can and must take in areas such as the provision of consumer information, education, physical activity promotion, marketing and advertising, the composition of foods, the availability of healthy options and sensible portion sizes”.

“We aim to help the Government in educating the public to an understanding of the importance of physical activity as well as good nutrition and adopting good dietary habits.  We also need to ensure that health is an integral consideration in all government policies, from agriculture to environment, from transport to trade etc.  Clear goals need to be set, aimed for and achieved with continuous evaluation over time to ensure that targets are being met and if not, that amendments can be made to ensure actions and activities are appropriate to the audiences in question.”

The NHF sees the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health as a beacon of best practice.  Programmes such as this and the Epode Study have successfully harnessed the power of inclusivity and the value of a multi-stakeholder approach, including industry, to empowering people to live healthier lives.

Dr. Cullen continued:

“Industry, Government and other relevant stakeholders all have a part to play in tackling this ticking time bomb.  Through a co-operative framework, the NHF aims to bring these groups together to raise awareness of the need for a balanced lifestyle and how we can all be empowered to play our part in achieving a healthier society, harnessing the contribution of industry as a force for good.  The NHF is currently working on targeted programmes focusing on different sections of society, recognising the different needs of different demographics. This includes projects for people in the workplace (Workplace Wellbeing Campaign); Children (Kids Size Me Initiative with the Restaurants Association of Ireland) and Families / Young Adults (Move Smart Week and Eat Smart Week) and are also developing nutritional projects with the Camogie Association and the Spurling Cinema Group.”

Full line-up for the seminar

Speakers:

·     Andrew Doyle T.D., Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee Agriculture, Food and The Marine

·     Dr. Rhona Mahony, Master of the National Maternity Hospital (Holles St.);

·     Annalise Murphy, Irish Olympic Sailor;

·     Dr. Niamh Murphy, Centre for Health Behaviour Research, Department of Health Sport and Exercise Science, Waterford Institute of Technology;

·     Helen Munday, Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe and Nordics;

·     Professor Richard Tiffin, Director, Centre for Food Security; Professor of Applied Economics, University of Reading;

·     Professor Mary Flynn, Chief Specialist in Public Health Nutrition, Food Safety Authority of Ireland;

·     Dame Carol Black, UK’s National Director for Health and Work, Chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Chairman of the Nuffield Trust.

Plus Conference Chairs / Facilitators:

·     Dr. Muireann Cullen, Dietitian and Manager of the NHF;

·     Professor David Madden, Associate Professor of Economics, University College Dublin

·     Dr. Elaine Mooney, St. Angela’s College, Sligo.

Dr Elaine Mooney, Home Economist and Lecturer in the Home Economics Department at St Angela’s College, Sligo is the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Nutrition and Health Foundation.

For further information, please contact:

Photo: Dr Elaine Mooney Chair of the Scientific Committee of NHF, Annalise Murphy Irish Olympic Sailor and Dr. Muireann Cullen Manager of NHF (Nutrition and Health Foundation).

NB: References for the statements above are available on the NHF Web site:

www.nutritionandhealth.ie