Prevalence of obesity in Irish adolescents

Abstract

Obesity is a serious and complex public health issue that can have a significant detrimental effect on health (1). In adults the BMI cutoffs of ‡ 25 kg/m 2 and 30 kg/m 2 are widely accepted definitions of overweight and obesity respectively. However, in adolescents there is no standard method; thus highlighting the difficulty posed when making comparisons. BMI has been recommended for use in children and adolescents; however, as BMI varies with age and gender during adolescence, it is essential that age-and gender-specific BMI cutoffs be used in defining overweight and obesity (1-4). Data for the present investigation are from the National Teens' Food Survey (NTFS), for which weight and height were measured in 223 males and 217 females aged 13-17 years who were randomly selected throughout the Republic of Ireland (5). BMI was determined by weight (kg) divided by height 2 (m 2). As there are currently no BMI v. age reference curves for an Irish reference population, the UK 1990 BMI-forage growth charts (4) were used to identify the overweight and obese adolescent (6) .

Perceptions of healthy snacking among Irish adolescents: a qualitative investigation

“…Over-consumption of such snacks is cited as a potential factor contributing to the rapid rise in overweight and obesity (Jahns, Siega-Riz, and Popkin 2001). Currently, 7.5% of Irish adolescents (aged 13 -17 years) are obese (O'Neill et al 2009), and trends show that these rates are increasing with age (IUNA 2011). Moreover, the fact that it has been established that dietary patterns formed during childhood are likely to continue into adulthood (Mikkilä et al 2005) suggests that Irish adolescents today are in serious risk of health problems in later life.…”

Revision of food-based dietary guidelines for Ireland, Phase 2: recommendations for healthy eating and affordability

“…Given the increasing rates of obesity in Ireland (3)(4)(5)(6) , guidance on energy was incorporated into healthy eating advice, which follows the approach used in recent revisions of food guides in other countries (17,34) . The energy requirements set were for people of normal body weight (21) , which means that overweight people following the guidance on food servings will tend to lose weight.…”

“…It is important to periodically review dietary guidelines to ensure that the dietary prevention of diseases most pertinent for a given population underpin healthy eating advice (1,2) . Rising obesity rates now affect all age groups in Ireland (3)(4)(5)(6) and diet-related chronic diseases such as CVD, cancer and osteoporosis (7)(8)(9) still remain important public health concerns. Over the past 3 years Ireland has experienced a major economic downturn where unemployment has risen from an average of 4?6 % in 2007 to 13?7 %, according to the latest figures for 2010 (10) .…”