for Ireland

A Healthy Weight for Ireland: Obesity Policy and Action Plan 2016 - 2025
9
chapter one
introduction
Overweight and obesity are conditions that develop over a
number of years in both children and adults. The determinants
are multiple and include the environment, access to healthy and
affordable food, physical activity, exercise and leisure activity,
cultural and societal norms, education and skill levels, genetic
makeup and lifestyle choices (World Health Organization (WHO)
Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, 2008). Efforts
to address overweight and obesity therefore require a crosssectoral
approach. It is not solely the job of the health sector or
services. Government policy and action in a wide range of areas
impact on most of the determinants of obesity.
That cross-sectoral approach is set out in Healthy Ireland – A
Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013–2025
(Department of Health, 2013), which specifically highlights the
economic and societal benefits of protecting and maintaining
health, preventing illness, and intervening early. Importantly, it
acknowledges the interdependencies between what we are trying
to achieve in health and in other policy areas such as education,
employment, transport, environment and social protection –
where there are significant shared agendas.
In the past two decades, levels of overweight and obesity in
Ireland have doubled (Morgan et al, 2008). Only 40% of us now
have a healthy weight. Levels of overweight and obesity are much
higher in disadvantaged groups.
Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many
chronic non-communicable diseases. The links between obesity
and heart disease, cancers, type 2 diabetes, mental ill-health,
respiratory problems and musculoskeletal conditions are well
established (WHO/FAO Joint Expert Consultation, 2003; National
Obesity Observatory, 2011). The burden of adult obesity in
financial terms has been estimated as €1.13 billion per annum
(safefood, 2012).
It is acknowledged that the solutions are multiple but complex.
No single sector or agency is able to solve this issue on their own.
Individuals and families need to be supported to make informed
choices in healthy eating and being physically active so they
can achieve and maintain a healthy weight. This Obesity Policy
and Action Plan strives to empower individuals, families and
communities to enhance their own skills to improve their health.