Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. There are two points I wish to make in this debate. The first is that education is key to preventing childhood obesity and the second is that tackling obesity requires support for those who are affected. We have increasing rates of type two diabetes, especially in younger people. We also have increasing rates of cancer. According to Professor Donal O'Shea, the country's foremost expert in the area, 80% of the diabetes cases and 40% of the cancers are obesity-related. This is a very worrying statistic. It is also worrying that Ireland as a country is moving towards American obesity rates and body shapes and the associated illnesses. A total of 23% of Irish adults are reported to be obese, and 61% are either obese or overweight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Irish children is also considerable. The 2005 national children's survey, which measured the weight and height of children from age five to 12 years, found that the prevalence of excess weight was at 11% in Irish boys and 12% in Irish girls. The prevalence of obesity was 9% in boys and 13% in girls.

As the Minister has stated, one in four primary school children and one in five teenagers are overweight or obese. This is truly shocking and we are storing up huge problems for the future. I imagine every teacher in the country would tell the same story - that the children they teach are getting heavier. The cause of obesity in most cases is straightforward, particularly so with children. They take in too many calories and do not expend those calories in exercise.

Childhood obesity has more than medical effects. It also has psychological and social ones. Children nowadays are suffering illnesses they never had in the past, with high blood pressure and cardiac problems. The sad thing is that it can be so easily avoided if they do not develop bad habits when they are young.

Anyone of my generation or older will remember, as Senator Aideen Hayden mentioned, a very active after-school lifestyle. There was no PlayStation, and very little television or any other electronic distraction, and children were sent outside to play with their friends. Nor was there a lot of junk food. I have no complaint about the advance of time or technology, but we need to take what worked well in the past and encourage our children to engage far more in an active lifestyle before it is too late.

Every vending machine or tuck shop supplying junk food or sweets should be banned from schools. I acknowledge that the child obesity campaign is promoting healthy options in vending machines in post-primary schools. However, it is reported that 30% of schools still offer junk food. It could be stopped with a single stroke of the pen by the Minister for Education and Skills. The HSE is on record as saying it would welcome such a move. If there are cost implications, so be it. The economy is in full recovery mode and not doing so would be penny wise and pound foolish.

While education might not be the key for adult sufferers of obesity, it is for children. If we educate children about healthy eating and exercise it will benefit everyone. It will benefit future generations but also, perhaps, have an effect on parents. Given the right education, our children could in turn educate their parents in better lifestyle choices. We are all familiar with being shamed into action by a younger generation.

While adult suffers of obesity usually know full well the reason for their condition and its cure, it is often difficult to change a pattern of behaviour. The Atkins diet or similar diets are only a temporary solution; lifestyle change is key. Often, the underlying cause of overeating or inactivity is emotional. To alter that cycle, people need support and encouragement. I do not just mean helpful friends. Breaking the link between food and happiness often requires psychological intervention by trained professionals. It should be available where it is needed. These issues are complex and they require a societal response. They require State action in education and prevention but they also require personal responsibility and an acknowledgment that we are heading down a dangerous path, individually and collectively.

I am glad to note that work has commenced on a new obesity policy and action plan, which is due to be finalised later this year. I would urge a strong emphasis on the education of our young people. We are sitting on a ticking time bomb and if we do not take serious action we are at risk of an obesity crisis that will affect our people and health services long into the future.