Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children
Tackling Obesity: Discussion with Operation Transformation
9:35 am
Dr. Eddie Murphy:
We come now to our third solution, namely, fruit at the checkout. We are grateful that supermarkets support "Operation Transformation" every year by making it easier for people to find healthier options when choosing their food. As a psychologist, I know that having healthy prompts around shops supports people in making healthier choices. How we lay out the world around us indicates our priority. One of the most valued spaces in supermarkets is at the checkout. We do not want to remove people's right to choose. We just want to nudge them in the right way so that they make healthier choices.
Currently, the priority at most checkouts is displaying sweets, chocolates, crisps and sugary drinks. We must get our priorities right if we are to tackle the obesity epidemic. A simple, powerful message is to swap sweets for fruit. This is something that has come from here. It would not cost anything and would give people, including parents, a chance as a country to say that they would prefer it if healthier choices were given the best place in their shops and if each checkout was switched from sweets to fruit.
That is our third step. We will now move on to our fourth step.