Aideen Hayden (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch to the House. Like all other speakers I congratulate our colleague, Senator Eamonn Coghlan, on this motion. We are examining two issues: physical education and obesity. I congratulate the Library on the excellent document on obesity it put together. It is disheartening to see that in spite of the fact that this is a problem in the entirety of the developed world, it appears not one country to date has managed to roll back the tide of the widening girth of the human population.

There is one aspect to this I would like to highlight, namely, the issue of stigma. A number of studies have highlighted that prejudice against obese people seems to border on the socially acceptable in Ireland. Moreover, obese children are more likely to suffer bullying, discrimination, low self-esteem and poor body image. Like all previous speakers I am in favour of a robust PE programme in our schools.

It is important to deal with the issue of bullying and the perception of obese people generally as being lazy and that, in some way, it is morally reprehensible to be obese. It is a fact that obese children are far less likely to want to engage in physical activity and it can be deeply traumatic for an overweight child to have to undress in public, put on a swimsuit and get into a swimming pool. If we are discussing PE in schools we need to be aware of the impact on overweight and obese children if we propose a programme that will involve a level of compulsion.

A thought occurred to me when I listened to a number of other speakers, in terms of the issues we have around body image. It is not something that happened yesterday or the day before. I heard a story about the time "Gandhi" beat "ET" for the Oscars. The reason given for "Gandhi" having won on that occasion was that he was moralistic, thin and tanned, just like the Academy thought itself to be. The difficulties obese children have with their self-image and bullying is a caveat we need to consider.

A number of studies have correlated obesity with poverty. The fact remains that a trolley can be filled in a supermarket in this country with foods that are high in sugar and fat far more cheaply than fruit and vegetables. It is an unfortunate, sad fact. A number of the proposals related to the taxation of foods with a high sugar content. I note from the report many policy areas that have been examined relating to the treatment of obesity and the OECD findings, in particular, cite the most cost-effective interventions for obesity as being fiscal measures. They consistently show better health gains for the less well off, particularly if taxation measures are ring-fenced in terms of cheaper foods.

There is no one approach which works. As the Minister of State indicated, we need to examine a number of measures. I would not underestimate the importance of having an active physical regime at an early point in children's lives. The statistics also show that people over the age of 35 in our society, namely those who were allowed out to play as children, had an active playground life and were kicked out the door and told not to come home until lunch time, are now, pro rata, more obese than the rest of society. There are some significant deeper issues we need to address. I welcome the proposal but it is part of an overall approach.