Put Health at the Centre of All Public Policy Decisions

Nutrition & Health Foundation Proposes National Health

• Almost half of participants considered themselves to be overweight (48%)
• More than three quarters (77%) of participants would like to weigh less (84% of women and 69% of men)
• Over half of participants (51%) said that they had tried to lose weight over the past 12 months (57% of female participants) – only 34% of those had actually lost weight

Tuesday, 18^th October 2011: At a conference ‘Innovations in Tackling Obesity’, delegates were told that physical inactivity amongst Ireland’s population is estimated to cost €1.6 billion per year and will escalate if this national health issue is not tackled urgently through a multi-stakeholder approach.

According to Dr. Muireann Cullen, Dietitian and Manager of the Nutrition & Health Foundation, Ireland’s has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe and with it continuing to increase now is the time to positively influence the lifestyle habits of the population. Dr. Cullen stated:

“Public health is a key challenge of the 21st Century. If the Ireland is to help its citizens achieve good health, it must address the behavioural, social and environmental factors that determine health. This involves understanding better how different issues and policies affect health. To do this, Ireland needs an effective health impact assessment system. This could play an important role in both mainstreaming health and evaluating how other policies affect health.

“We need to ensure that health is an integral consideration in all government policies, from agriculture to environment, from transport to trade etc. Clear goals need to be set, aimed for and achieved with continuous evaluation over time to ensure that targets are being met and if not, that amendments can be made to ensure actions and activities are appropriate to the audiences in question.”

Speakers and delegates discussed the role which all sections of society have to play, overcoming differences of approach, disagreements, even tensions between groups in the national interest. The EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was proposed as a beacon of best practice, focusing on a multi-stakeholder and inclusive method of achieving results, taking into account consumer information; education; physical activity promotion; marketing and advertising; and the composition of foods, availability of healthy food options, portion sizes etc. Programmes such as this and the Epode Study have successfully harnessed the power of inclusivity and the value of a multi-stakeholder approach, including industry, to empowering people to live healthier lives.

Dr. Cullen continued:

“With over 60% of the adult Irish population overweight or obese, we need to target each demographic to encourage not only an understanding of good nutrition but actually adopting good dietary habits. If only 39%* of the Irish population under 65 years of age are in a normal weight range, we need to act immediately to tackle this growing pandemic.”

“Industry, Government and citizens all have a part to play in tackling this ticking time bomb. All now recognise that imaginative, transformative thinking is required to tackle this national health issue, following the lead of the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Epode etc. Through a co-operative framework, the NHF aims to bring these groups together to raise awareness of the need for a balanced lifestyle and how we can all be empowered to play our part in achieving a healthier society, harnessing the contribution of industry as a force for good. The NHF is currently working on targeted programmes focusing on different sections of society, recognising the different needs of different demographics. This includes projects for people in the workplace (Workplace Wellbeing Campaign); Children (Kids Size Me Initiative with the Restaurants Association of Ireland) and Students / Young Adults (Eat Smart Week 2011).”

“Our survey found that almost half of participants considered themselves to be overweight while only 34% of those who had tried to lose weight in the past 12 months had succeeded in this task. We must now look to new innovative methods of helping our population to overcome and avoid obesity.”

There is no question about the correlation between physical inactivity and the rate of obesity in Ireland and the most recent figures available point to concerning trends. 38% of Ireland’s population is overweight and 23% obese. These statistics are compounded by the fact that 59% of adults did not meet the Department of Health’s recommended levels of physical activity (Slán, 2007). Ireland has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world at 10% of children aged 5-12 and a staggering three out of four nine year old children do not get the recommended level of physical activity (Growing up in Ireland, 2009).


Key Findings from the NHF Research:

Body Weight and Battling Obesity:

· Almost half of participants considered themselves to be overweight (48%)
· More than three quarters (77%) of participants would like to weigh less (84% of women and 69% of men)
· Over half of participants (51%) said that they had tried to lose weight over the past 12 months (57% of female participants) – only 34% of those had actually lost weight
· 37% of participants had put on weight in the last 12 months
· The highest weight gain age category was those aged 25-34, where more than two-fifths (41%) had put on weight over the past 12 months
· Almost three quarters of participants (74%) had gained more than 22lbs (10KG) since the age of 18 (81% of males and 70% of females)
· Of participants who tried to lose weight in the past twelve months (51%), the following methods were employed:
o Exercise: 72%
o Ate less food: 50%
o Ate less fat: 43%
o Reduced / stopped eating fast food: 40%
o Ate lower calorie foods: 38%
o Ate more high-fibre foods: 21%
o Reduced / stopped drinking alcohol: 20%
o Joined a weight loss programme: 18%
o Ate ‘diet’ foods or products: 11%
· Of participants who have not gained more than 22lbs (10KG) since the age of 18, their methods are as follows:
o Have an active attitude to life e.g. cycle or walk short distances: 57%
o Eat lots of fruit and vegetables: 51%
o Take lots of exercise: 50%
o Eat low calorie foods: 33%
o Eat small portions throughout the day: 27%
o Eat high fibre foods: 26%
o Eat ‘diet’ foods or products: 17%
o Eat only three meals a day, no snacks: 14%
o Skip meals: 11%

Full line-up for today’s conference:
Speakers:

· Minister Jimmy Deenihan T.D, Minister for Arts Heritage, and the Gaeltacht
· Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Children
· John McGrath, Dawn Farm Foods
· Colin Gordon, Chief Executive, Glanbia Consumer Foods
· Helen King, Head of Insight & Innovation, Bord Bia
· Roy Ballam, Education Programme Manager, British Nutrition Foundation
· Brian Fallon, President, Restaurants Association of Ireland
· Anne Farrell Workplace Health Promotion Officer, CIE group
· Caitriona Walsh Owner, Littlegreenfingers.me
· Dr. Tom O’ Callaghan Founder and Clinical Director, Living Health Clinic

Plus Conference Chairs / Facilitators:

· Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Adjunct Associate Professor at the institute of food and health, UCD
· Dr. Fiona Lalor, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow for Food for Health Ireland at UCD

Nutrition and Health Survey 2011 conducted by Empathy Research on behalf of the Nutrition &
Health Foundation, September 2011 (1,002 participants).
* The National Adult Nutrition Survey 2011