Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Tackling Childhood Obesity: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Dr. Aileen McGloin:

There are a number of different ways. I will address the Deputy's initial point about inevitability. It is inevitable if we continue as we are. We also mean that parents in particular feel very disempowered, in relation to both food and physical activity. To reply to some points made in response to Mr. Treacy, we have recently done some formative research for the next phase of our campaign around physical activity and screen time. Screen time rose to the top because parents are so concerned and so utterly disempowered with no clear guidance on how much screen time is healthy.