Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to take this debate on behalf of the Minister for Health and thank Senator Conway for raising this very important issue.

Senators will be very aware of the worrying trend that 61% of adults in Ireland and one in four children is overweight or obese. Reliable contemporary and locally relevant figures show that the annual economic cost of weight-related ill health in adults is €1.1 billion. Overweight and obesity are a public health priority so the special action group on obesity, SAGO, was established by the Minister for Health. SAGO has progressed many actions, such as, for example, the healthy eating guidelines, the report on recommendations to reduce consumption of high fat, salt and sugar foods and drinks from the top shelf of the food pyramid, calories on menus initiative, obesity treatment algorithms for those in primary care health services and a three year childhood obesity campaign.

The current phase of the childhood obesity campaign, which is being run in partnership between Heathy Ireland, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, safefood and the HSE launched yesterday and urges parents to "bring back play" and encourage children to be more active every day. It suggests that parents make practical changes to everyday lifestyle habits which would make a big difference to their children's future health. The campaign also reminds parents about the negative health impacts of excess weight in childhood and how this can impact on a child's quality of life. Healthy Ireland, the Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-25 contains a commitment to develop a national physical activity plan. The health and well-being programme in the Department of Health and the Department of Transport. Tourism and Sport are co-chairing a working group comprising representatives of a range of stakeholders with an interest and an expertise in physical activity to develop the plan.

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for death worldwide and is a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases, NCD, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. There is significant evidence that physical activity promotes well-being in physical and mental health, prevents disease, improves quality of life and has economic, social and cultural benefits. It is a concern that the majority of Irish people do not meet the levels of physical activity indicated in the existing national physical activity guidelines. The national plan in development will provide a strong focus for modifying unhealthy life habits and promoting awareness of the benefits of physical activity to both physical and mental health for all ages.

There are many organisations and individuals already working to promote physical activity. The attention is, therefore, focused on operational issues aimed at encouraging greater participation in, and greater recognition of, the importance of, physical activity. It is intended that the plan will be finalised as soon as possible. A comprehensive, multi-level approach is required to address the obesity epidemic and to raise the levels of physical activity in the country and the work of SAGO in conjunction with Healthy Ireland is ongoing in this regard.

Senators may also wish to note that an EU action plan to tackle childhood obesity was recently launched. This was a success story from the Irish Presidency. To facilitate implementation of the action plan an EU-wide joint action will commence in January 2015 with Ireland leading on "The cost of Childhood Obesity in Europe". It is clear that addressing issues of overweight and obesity in children will help in developing generations of children who can lead healthier, happier lives.