Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the witnesses to this committee. The main reason we are dealing with this issue is to make people aware of the damage that being overweight and obese can do to one's health. It is important to show people how they can combat this problem. Obesity levels in Ireland have risen dramatically in the past 20 years. In the 1990s, only one in ten Irish men was obese, and the level today is put officially at one in four. In the same period, the level of obesity among women has risen from 13% to 21%. The fact of being overweight and obesity are now the most common childhood disorders in Europe. Of all five to 12 year olds, one in ten is overweight and a further one in ten is obese. In total, 22% of five to 12 year olds are now overweight or obese. One in five Irish teenagers aged between 13 and 17 is overweight or obese, with 11% being overweight and 8% being obese. There has been a significant increase in teenage obesity since 1990, with an eightfold increase in males, from 1% to 8%, and a twofold increase in females, from 3% to 6%. Obesity and being overweight are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.

It is important that witnesses who appear before the committee tell us the truth, the facts and figures, and that is the reason the witnesses are before the committee today. In terms of whatever information they give the committee, I ask that they know that it is 100% correct.