Dr. Cliodhna Foley-Nolan:

I thank the Deputy for his remarks and his support is appreciated. We know that people who are less advantaged do not eat as well. They are not as active and we know that children in less advantaged families sleep for shorter periods of time. All of these factors are relevant.

The Deputy mentioned teenagers and younger children. We now know that children as young as three years are overweight and obese. Their risk of being overweight as adults is huge. We are not talking about the middle-aged spread but about decades of serious illnesses. The evidence shows that what is the norm at home is the issue. Tackling teenagers is certainly not the priority, although this must be done. That is where the childhood obesity campaign comes from.

The Deputy asked if there was any evidence of improvement. There are some indications. Some of the work done as part of the childhood obesity surveillance initiative, COSI, a World Health Organization surveillance initiative, shows a levelling off in some age groups among children. However, it is an unacceptably high level. One in four children is overweight or obese. I am sure Ms Gilligan will be able to provide figures for indications of positivity in our childhood obesity campaign.

The Deputy mentioned his familiarity with the estates in the area in which he works. The challenge is dealing with the stigma attached to not having enough money or not being as well off as we perceive others to be. We have a dilemma in which we are inclined not to emphasise the social inequalities so as not to further stigmatise people. It is a difficult issue. If we say people who are less advantaged are more likely to be overweight, it is just another negative from their perspective.