HEALTH ministers in Stormont and the Republic are backing a new five-year obesity campaign to tackle “the unhealthy food environment” across Ireland.
At a recent meeting of the North South Ministerial Council, Stormont junior minister Aisling Reilly and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt joined with Stephen Donnelly to support the project.
Led by the North South body Safefood, the campaign aims to “spotlight the harsh reality of our unhealthy food landscape”.
This will highlight the “overwhelming” availability of unhealthy food options and the marketing tactics used to target children.
Currently, one in four children in Northern Ireland and one in five in the Republic are overweight or living with obesity - putting them at greater risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and many cancers in adulthood.
The psychological and social toll on these children due to weight stigmatisation was described as “profound,” while the estimated lifetime cost of childhood obesity was £2.1bn in Northern Ireland and €7.2bn in the Republic.
Mr Nesbitt said: The burden caused by an unhealthy food environment is falling hardest on those children from low-income backgrounds. Obesity rates are highest for children from the most deprived areas. Tackling inequality is key to creating a better food environment for children.”
He added that his department had recently completed a public consultation on new Obesity Strategic Framework to support healthier lifestyles for children and adults.
Mr Donnelly said: “Overweight and obesity pose an increasing challenge in Ireland. One in five of our primary school children are living with overweight or obesity.
“In socially deprived areas, it is one in every four children. I very much welcome the focus of Safefood’s new public health campaign, and I hope it will ignite a discussion and raise awareness across Irish society about our children’s health and the impact the environment has on it.”
Dr Gary A. Kearney, Chief Executive of Safefood, said the all-Ireland campaign marked a “move away from personal responsibility towards a broader societal response”.
“For several years, many public health bodies have been encouraging people to eat healthily, but it is virtually impossible to do so within an environment that doesn’t support this.
“It is very difficult to make healthy food choices when faced with constant advertising and marketing, and the availability of cheap, unhealthy foods at every turn. Rates of overweight and obesity remain high, and a different and inclusive approach is now required for society.”
Further information on the campaign is available at www.safefood.net/talk-about-food.
