SOME 12 per cent of girls and 4 per cent of boys are on a weight-reducing diet with an additional 23 per cent of children believing they need to lose weight, according to the National Health and Lifestyle Surveys.
The study found that concern about weight increased sharply with age among girls but remained static or fell among boys.
The percentage of girls on a weight-reducing diet was highest (17 per cent) among 15-17 year olds in the semi-skilled and unskilled social class category. This compared with just 2 per cent of boys in the same age bracket and category.
Prof Cecily Kelleher, the author of the study, said it was disturbing that young people felt the need to reduce their weight and restrict their diet when in most cases there was no medical reason to do so.
The study found, however, that 10 per cent of adults were classifiable as obese. A further 32 per cent of respondents reported a body mass index (calculated as the percentage height over weight) which made them classifiable as overweight.
In relation to exercise, 42 per cent of adult respondents engaged in some form of regular physical activity. Some 21 per cent of respondents reported doing no exercise at all. This was predominantly so for older men and women in the lower social class groups.
Among children, 53 per cent reported exercising four or more times per week while 6 per cent exercised less than weekly.
This compared dramatically with elderly people, one-third of whom took no exercise at all in a regular week.
In relation to alcohol, Prof Kelleher said the figures showed more people were drinking but also more people were drinking in moderation. Almost a third of children said they had taken an alcoholic drink, compared to 49 per cent who said they had taken a cigarette.
In addition, 29 per cent of children said they had been drunk, with higher rates among boys (35 per cent) than among girls (24 per cent).
Some 8 per cent of boys and 3 per cent of girls reported having been drunk more than 10 times.
