Dr John Devlin, SAGO
The IMO has called on the Government to monitor food advertising, in the wake of data presented by the World Health Organization at the European Congress on Obesity that projected Ireland to top the European obesity league table.
In response, Dr John Devlin, Chair of Ireland’s Special Action Group on Obesity (SAGO), said that people needed to know what they were eating, and this was why new healthy eating guidelines were being developed as well as calorie posting on menus in pubs, fast foods outlets and restaurants.
“Better labelling of foods and continued reformulations of processed foods is also very important,” added Dr Devlin.
The IMO wants an urgent and comprehensive response from the Department of Health and the HSE on new research by the WHO, which predicts Ireland is on course to have the most obese population in Europe by 2030. The proportion of obese and overweight men in Ireland is projected to rise to 89 per cent by 2030 with a corresponding 85 per cent of women falling into this category.
IMO President Dr Ray Walley said it was now clear that Ireland was facing massive population-wide health problems “if we do not succeed in tackling this obesity crisis early and comprehensively”.
He added: “Government must act and act fast. We need a comprehensive plan across all Government including taxation on high-fat and high-sugar foods. This taxation should be used to fund integrated health services for obese patients and fund educational projects to encourage younger people to make healthier choices.”
The WHO forecast puts Irish men at the top of an “overweight” table of 53 countries, matched only by Uzbekistan.
The IMO has proposed population measures to improve nutrition and encourage physical exercise. It backs education measures to increase understanding of the problem of obesity and what constitutes a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle and has urged moves to improve nutrition and encourage physical exercise in schools.
The Department of Health has acknowledged that overweight and obesity is a significant problem in Ireland, but Minister for Health Dr Leo Varadkar said more recent data than that used by the WHO suggested the obesity problem among children had plateaued, and fresh adult figures were due later in the year.
Cabinet had agreed that legislation would be passed to ensure calorie counts are placed on menus and the National Physical Activity Plan was at a draft stage and would be published in the next few months, he added.
The special action group on obesity would also be advising the Government on a new obesity policy and would publish its findings by the end of the year.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “We had a major stakeholder consultation on what we need to do collectively to address the challenge of overweight and obesity. The consultation brought together key stakeholders to prioritise the actions which Government and other sectors need to take over the next 10 years to tackle overweight and obesity.
“We will also be consulting with children and with healthcare professionals and providers. The feedback will provide the foundation for action by key players. This Policy and Action Plan will address prevention, treatment and research. It will be finalised this year and brought to Government for approval.”
Dr Devlin added that SAGO was working on a code of practice in relation to advertising, promotion and sponsorship of food and drink, and there was to be a media campaign to communicate practical solutions for parents to adopt in order to tackle the everyday habits associated with excess weight in childhood.
A revision of the Healthy Eating Guidelines would take place for one- to five-year-old children, and there would be treatment guidelines for overweight and obesity and calorie posting in restaurants, he added.
gary.culliton@imt.ie