James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen steadily in recent times, with 61% of Irish adults now overweight or obese. The World Health Organization refers to the alarming speed with which obesity has increased in recent decades as a global epidemic.

The recently published report, The cost of overweight and obesity on the island of Ireland, funded by safefood and conducted by University College Cork, provides reliable figures for the annual economic cost of weight related ill health in Ireland. Initial findings estimate the annual cost of overweight and obesity in the Republic of Ireland to be €1.13 billion. The direct health care costs are €398 million or 35% of total costs. This figure includes hospital, GP and drug costs. In addition, two thirds of the economic costs were indirect costs in reduced or lost productivity and absenteeism, which amounted to €728 million. These figures show that the extent of the problem is greater than previously estimated, as indicated in the extrapolated figure of €400 million in the 2005 National Task Force on Obesity report.

The UCC study shows that almost 10% or 37,341 years of life lost are due to overweight and obesity. The burden of disease from overweight and obesity combined account for an estimated 2.7% of total health expenditure. This Safefood funded study is particularly timely given that obesity is the major health problem in Ireland, of itself, and is contributing to other chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Irish studies have shown that two out of every three adults are overweight or obese; one in four primary school children and one in five teenagers are overweight or obese. Of particular concern are the results of the recent Growing Up in Ireland survey which found that in children as young as three years of age, one in four are overweight or obese.

As Minister for Health I have made overweight and obesity a public health priority and have established a special action group on obesity, SAGO, which I meet with regularly to progress the obesity prevention agenda. It is recognised that no single initiative alone will reverse this growing trend, but a combination of measures should make a difference. For this reason, the special action group is concentrating on a range of measures including actions such as calorie posting in restaurants, which I have asked the SAGO to prioritise as one of the key initiatives that will have a positive impact in addressing the problem of our rising levels of overweight and obesity and as a means of educating the general public on the calorie content of food portions.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

This involved a public consultation process with over 3,130 responses. Top line statistics from that process indicate that 96% of consumers want calorie menu labelling in all or some food outlets with 73% of food businesses indicating that they want calorie menu labelling in all or some food outlets also. This indicates that there is strong support for this initiative among the general public and also, in fact, within much of the food industry itself. Calorie posting has already commenced in a number of establishments and it is envisaged that in the coming months, when the necessary implementation mechanism has been devised, it will be further implemented.

My Department has worked with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with regard to the marketing of food and drink to children towards a new children’s code to restrict marketing of high fat, high salt and high sugar foods and drinks up to 7 p.m. My Department, under the auspices of SAGO, has revised the healthy eating guidelines, including the food pyramid, and I launched these on 13 June 2012.

Treatment algorithms inform primary care staff of the steps to be taken with regard to managing obesity. An adult algorithm has been agreed with health care professionals and is now available. It is understood that the treatment algorithm for children is at final stages of agreement. The special action group on obesity has been discussingopportunistic screening and monitoring with the HSE with a view to earlier detection of overweight and obesity in children. This will improve the identification of overweight children at an earlier age and prevent these children from progressing into the obese category. Research is underway in association with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to establish the use and types of foods and drinks stocked in vending machines in post-primary schools. Both I and SAGO have met with the Food and Drink Industry Ireland, FDII, and its members to discuss my action priorities and they have indicated to me that this is an area they are interested in supporting.

We know that three out of every four Irish adults and four out of five Irish children do not meet the targets set in the national physical activity guidelines developed by the Department of Health and the HSE in June 2009 and are consequently at risk of developing serious health problems due to inactivity. National guidelines alone are insufficient to increase participation levels and so the HSE has also developed a programme entitled A Physical Activity Plan for Ireland to give clear direction for the promotion of physical activity in Ireland and address the risk of developing health problems associated with sustained inactivity. The national physical activity plan which will contribute to addressing this major health issue is currently being considered by SAGO and my Department.

A new health and well-being framework is being developed and will be launched as part of Ireland's Presidency of the EU. This is an overarching strategic framework for sustained action to improve the health and well-being of the nation. It will set out ambitious goals for improved health and well-being among our population. Priority areas being addressed include tobacco, alcohol, food and physical activity. The four goals of the framework are: to increase the number of Irish people who are healthy at all stages of life; to reduce health inequalities; to protect the public from threats to health and well-being and to create an environment where every sector of society can play its part.

See this speech in context