Ms Maeve McCafferty:

The INTO thanks the Oireachtas for the opportunity to make an oral submission on tackling childhood obesity. Obesity is considered to have reached epidemic proportions in both adult and child populations in recent decades. According to figures provided by Growing Up in Ireland, 19% of children aged three years are overweight and 6% are obese indicating a strong need for early intervention well before children begin school when obesity levels reach one in every four. Furthermore, four out of five children in the Republic of Ireland do not meet the recommended Government physical activity guidelines of at least 60 minutes per day.

Primary teachers endeavour to create a healthy environment in schools and encourage children to make healthy lifestyle choices around diet and physical activity. PE and social personal and health education, SPHE, both form key parts of the primary curriculum by means of which teachers seek to educate pupils about healthy lifestyle choices and behaviours. A minimum of one hour of PE a week is recommended for all primary school pupils although many primary schools do not have the facilities and equipment to implement fully the PE programme as outlined in the curriculum. A commitment by the Government is required to ensure that all schools are provided with both indoor and outdoor PE facilities so that the programme can be implemented in full.

Despite the under-resourcing, schools are committed to the promotion of healthy lifestyle choices for pupils through policies such as healthy lunches, although the success of such policies depends on parental co-operation. Schools also engage with a range of innovative whole-school initiatives with a view to encouraging a positive and healthy school culture. Some examples include walk on Wednesday, WOW; cycle on Wednesday, COW, active flag; active week; and walking bus to name but a few. The INTO cautions, however, that the escalating workload in schools makes ongoing engagement with the various initiatives challenging.

The few schools that are fortunate enough to have kitchen facilities also store and disseminate healthy snacks to pupils through initiatives such as Food Dudes. The INTO believes that it is regrettable that more schools do not have kitchen facilities particularly in disadvantaged settings where pupils are provided with breakfast clubs and school meals.

There is no doubt that schools have a very important role to play in tackling obesity, but schools do not operate in isolation. Children are very much influenced by behaviours and practices that prevail in their home environment and the broader community. Schools are only one of several layers of the environment that affect children’s behaviour. It is important that policymakers break the cycle of focusing solely on schools to reduce the childhood obesity epidemic. Different approaches are needed that consider broader influences from the family, community, media and the food industry.

Furthermore, a study in the British Medical Journalsuggests that relying solely on school-based programmes aimed at preventing obesity in children is unlikely to have much impact on the childhood obesity epidemic. The study provided children with a year of extra physical activity sessions as well as a healthy eating programme and cookery workshops involving their parents. It concluded that while school is an important setting for supporting healthy lifestyles, wider influences such as families, local communities and the food industry may have a greater effect. It is also important that further legislation be enacted to control and curb advertising of junk food. Tackling childhood obesity is a public health priority demanding a cross-sectoral approach. Continuing with isolated educational preventive approaches can never hope to greatly impact on the obesity epidemic.

It is important to highlight that primary schools can contribute to children’s understanding of the importance of creating healthy environments and leading an active life. Schools alone, however, cannot solve or prevent the problem of obesity. A co-ordinated action, including a number of Departments, parents, schools, community-based organisations and healthcare providers, will be required in order to support families, address food poverty and to tackle the many factors contributing to Ireland’s obesity problem.