The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children between 1990 and 2019

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the temporal prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children through different methodologies and evaluate the change in rates between 1990 and 2019. Design: Anthropometric data from three Irish national food consumption surveys were used to examine the change in the prevalence of BMI and waist circumference-derived overweight and obesity levels. Setting: Three cross-sectional food consumption surveys from the Republic of Ireland: the Irish National Nutrition Survey (1990), the National Children’s Food Survey (2005) and The Second National Children’s Food Survey (2019). Participants: A demographically representative sample of Irish children aged 5–12 years: 1990 (n 148), 2005 (n 594) and 2019 (n 596). Results: Twelve percentage of children had overweight/obesity in 1990, which was significantly higher in 2005 at 25 % and significantly lower in 2019 at 16 % (P = 0·003). In 2019, more girls had overweight/obesity in comparison with boys (19 v. 14 %), whilst children from the lowest social class group had the highest levels of overweight/obesity (P = 0·019). Overall, the proportion of children with abdominal overweight/obesity was significantly lower in 2019 in comparison with 2005 (P ≤ 0·001). Conclusions: Evidence from the most recent national survey suggests that overweight and obesity levels are plateauing and in some cases reducing in children in Ireland. Despite this, rates remain high, with the highest prevalence in 2019 observed in girls and in those from the lowest social class group. Thus, overweight/obesity prevention and intervention policies are necessary and should be continued.

Motor Competence Among Children in the United Kingdom and Ireland: An Expert Statement on Behalf of the International Motor Development Research Consortium

“…At age 10-11 (School Year 6), 21.0% are obese and 14.1% overweight (UK Parliament, 2021). Similarly, in Ireland, 13% of children meet the National PA guidelines of at least 60 min of moderate to vigorous PA every day (17% primary school pupils and 10% post primary school pupils; Woods et al, 2018), and 16% of children were classified as overweight and obese (O'Donnell et al, 2020). Consequently, the promotion of PA and efforts to reduce overweight and obesity in children remain key public health priorities in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.…”

Changes in weight status of 7-year-old children in North Macedonia between 2010 and 2019

“…Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Portugal and Ireland are some of the countries which showed stabilization or reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. [20][21][22][23][24] Gender differences indicate that in North Macedonia overweight and obesity are more prevalent among boys than among girls, which is similar to most of the countries in the region. [25][26][27] However, it is obvious from our data that the girl's overweight and obesity were more significantly growing over the observed period.…”

Evaluating 12 Years of Implementing a Multidisciplinary Specialist Child and Adolescent Obesity Treatment Service: Patient-Level Outcomes

“…In little more than a generation, obesity among children in Ireland has increased 10-fold to affect around 9% of children in 2016 (2). 2018 trends suggest that the prevalence of childhood obesity in Ireland was plateauing (35) however, the prevalence for children living in disadvantage continued to rise. In turn, the leveling off of obesity prevalence previously seen at the population may be reversed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child health and growth.…”