Medical experts have expressed concern over he the problem of obesity in Ireland and warn that almost half of Irish adults will be obese by 2030 if childhood overweight and obesity is not tackled now.
Consultant paediatrician at Temple St Children’s Hospital in Dublin, Dr Sinead Murphy, has uncovered the shocking truth to the the Oireachtas committee on health and children, revealing that there are 300,000 overweight and 100,000 obese children in Ireland at risk of developing heart disease, stroke, multiple cancers, and infertility in adulthood.
These frightening statistics show that not enough is being done to treat children with a serious weight problem, Dr Murphy told the committee.
“Investment in childhood overweight and obesity community and hospital bases’ services is patchy and wholly inadequate and, if it remains this way, 47% of adults living in Ireland will be obese by 2030,” she warned.
Despite Dr Murphy’s grave warnings, she did also have some solutions to the problem of obesity in Ireland.
Pleading her case for the fight against obesity, Dr Murphy explained how it costs the State nearly $7000 a year to tackle the associated diseases and conditions connected to a child with potential fatal obesity levels that are left untreated but effective weight-reducing programs only cost around $800 a year, the Irish Examiner reveals.
Also addressing the committee was Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute dietitian and president Richelle Flanagan, who that said treatment needed to be available for all children at both a community level and in a hospital setting: “We need specialised multi-disciplinary treatment available to address the current crisis of childhood obesity and its co-morbidities,” she said.