By Pauline Bugler
Cork, Ireland - Efforts are growing to increase awareness of what constitutes a healthy diet after a recent report painted an alarming picture of the state of Ireland's health.
According to the government-appointed National Taskforce on Obesity, 300 000 children are overweight or obese and projected increases of 10 000 annually loom unless radical measures are taken.
Treating obesity-related illnesses costs nearly €500-million per year, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said and promised to assess whether taxation could be amended to encourage healthier diets.
Obesity is reached when the body's excess fat is 20 percent above the recommended weight for height and age, whereas being overweight implies a larger, increased bodily size with increased lean body mass, but without excess body fat.
Obese people are more likely to suffer from diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, angina, heart attacks and osteoarthritis, the report noted and pointed to links between obesity and premature death, excessive morbidity and serious psychosocial problems.
With the guidance of Health Services Executive (HSE) dietician, Christine Gurnett, the panel implemented a scheme promoting healthier food by providing school meals across 14 low-income primary schools in Limerick, southern Ireland.
Prior to the introduction of the scheme, some children were arriving at school without having eaten breakfast. Lunch consisted of an odd sandwich followed by an array of junk food including fizzy drinks, sweets, crisps, lollipops and chewing gum.
The scheme benefits 2 500 school-children and is funded by the Paul Partnership (People Against Unemployment in Limerick) and the Department of Social and Family Affairs at a cost of €1,40 (about R10) per child, per meal, according to Gurnett. Funds were not available to set up a school canteen offering meals.
While the funds are low, this has not stopped several non-profit suppliers from providing ham and cheese sandwiches, a piece of fruit, bottled water or pure fruit juice to the pupils on a daily basis.
Parents must comply with the healthy eating policy operated by Corpus Christi National School in the suburb of Moyross, which pioneered the scheme together with the HSE.
Teachers interviewed all said that the children were calmer and more focused. Second-grade teacher, Miriam Collins noted a "massive change" in the behaviour of her five-year-old pupil Mike, who had developed a liking for cucumbers and yoghurts in particular.
A healthy food pyramid showing nutritional recommendations is moved between classrooms and a chef recently showed parents and children how to cook a healthy meal as part of a school festival.
Compliance is high and the children voluntarily postpone treats such as ice-cream or Coca-Cola until after school.
School principal Aine Ui Chroimin expressed concern for the welfare of teenagers in secondary schools where such schemes are not operational.
"Such a scheme is more challenging in secondary schools in the absence of a healthy eating ethos," she said and pointed out that the likelihood of four to 12 year-olds complying was greater given their impressionability.
In view of the fact that overweight and obesity levels among Irish girls aged between 13 and 15 are higher than the international average, Ui Chroimin's fears appear to be well-founded.
Calls for a ban on school vending machines containing fizzy drinks and sweet foods, and for a minimum of 45 to 60 minutes physical exercise daily are also mounting.
A lack of exercise has impacted negatively and some children have even been banned from running in school playgrounds for fear of lawsuits, if a child fell - a development which prompted a cry of outrage from Ahern.
While acknowledging a person's right to eat as they wish, the taskforce made more than 80 recommendations for a comprehensive government policy to tackle obesity.
Their suggestions included recommendations that the Irish department of finance research the benefits of taxation policy to support healthy eating and should consider subsidies for fruit and vegetables.
Further recommendations were measures against the marketing and advertising of products that contribute to weight gain, a review of food labelling contents and to setting a percentage of road budgets aside for walkways and cycle paths.
It also recommended that the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority examine the costs of public liability and their impact on physical activity. - Sapa-dpa