Dr. Celine Murrin:

On Deputy Madigan's point about stabilisation, this is a phenomenon we have seen in several developed countries, including the UK which has seen similar trends and the US. To point to a particular reason as to why would be challenging, considering there are so many determinants driving the obesity problem. Essentially, there is a greater awareness of obesity. This would not necessarily have been part of our conversation ten or 15 years ago, particular concerning children. There is certainly a greater awareness of obesity among parents and the wider community.

We know in certain disadvantaged groups that there are different behavioural patterns. It is not something we can directly associate with our data. We would like to be able to analyse it in more detail. Whether it is regarding dietary patterns and physical activity patterns, we know there are differences in disadvantaged communities compared to advantaged ones.

On Deputy Madigan's question on the correlation between overweight parents and overweight children, this is a phenomenon which is well known to be true. If one parent is overweight or obese, the child is likely to be too. If there are two parents, the child is much more likely to be overweight or obese. Is this genetic or environmental? In certain instances, it is both. One may have a genetic predisposition to being overweight or obese. However, unless one is engaging in an unhealthy lifestyle, one may not necessarily become overweight or obese.

We also need to consider obesity in a life course perspective. We are researching that approach in that one cannot pinpoint one particular critical time within somebody's life regarding their risk of obesity. There is much research at the moment looking at early life course which involves intrauterine phenomenon. From our research we have conducted as part of the lifeway study, we have found a mother's body mass index, BMI, before she becomes pregnant is one of the strongest determinants for a child being overweight and obese.

Accordingly, we should not only be looking at primary schoolchildren but also secondary schoolchildren because they are the future parents. They are the ones we need to ensure have developed sufficient life skills, are aware of how much physical activity they need and are aware what good and healthy food is. We must ensure that they can they cook and have the capacity to be able to provide healthy lifestyles, not only for themselves, but for their future families.

On how we tackle these, I would speak to several of the questions which spoke to disadvantage and addressing children with disability. This requires a whole health promoting school approach. Speaking with different physical activity or nutrition hats may not necessarily be helpful. The whole child needs to be tackled, whether it is through diet, physical activity or mental well-being. The World Health Organization's health promoting schools require parents, not just teachers, to be involved in developing programmes within schools, as well the wider community. We know from much intervention research that schools on their own have some success in developing interventions. However, schools and the home environment together have greater success while schools, the home and the wider community have the best outcomes overall. Looking at the school as part of the community appears to be the best approach in intervening with schoolchildren.