Adverts marketing fatty foods to young people must be urgently restricted to tackle childhood obesity, the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) claimed today.
The warning comes after a survey revealed the number of overweight teenagers was on the rise, with obesity in boys up 13 per cent and in girls 2 per cent since 1990.
Michael O'Shea, CEO Irish Heart Foundation
"With one in five Irish adolescents and children now overweight or obese, we are already seeing increasing levels of diabetes and a real possibility of increasing levels of heart disease at a younger age resulting in a wide range of social, economic and health care problems," foundation chief executive Michael O'Shea said.
"Faced with the scale of this public health problem - doing nothing is not an option. Many public health organisations across the world are calling for action on marketing of unhealthy foods to children," he said.
"An EU-wide consultation . . . established that 'controls on food and drink advertising to children' was in the top 10 policy options to combat obesity and should be implemented as a priority," Mr O'Shea said.
The survey by food research body Relay questioned 450 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 from schools nationwide during 2005 and 2006.
The findings revealed that one in three teenagers do not eat fruit, four in five are not getting enough fibre, and that levels of obesity in boys since 1990 jumped from 6 per cent to 19 per cent and from 15 per cent to 17 per cent in girls.
It also found levels of calcium, iron and vitamins A and D, were low, while the majority of meat eaten was processed and not fresh. Daily intake of fizzy drinks averaged around one and a half glasses.
On the plus side, the study found the number of girls and boys taking part in physical activity was relatively high.
PA