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Ireland is lagging behind in the fight against obesity, according to a new report from University College Cork (UCC).
The study’s findings have led to calls for a reform of Ireland’s food environment, including the introduction of “no fry zones”, better food education and changes in food production and marketing.
Ireland’s first Healthy Food Environmental Policy Index (Food-EPI) has highlighted how, compared to other countries, Ireland underperformed in implementing measures to reduce the marketing of unhealthy food to children in the media communication and online.
The Food-EPI Ireland study is led by Dr Janas Harrington from the UCC School of Public Health.
It is the first of its kind to compare the level of government support for improving the wholesomeness of the food we eat.
The report compared Ireland to other countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand, and found that Ireland lags behind when it comes to marketing unhealthy food to children, implementing ‘no fry zones’, use of policies to support healthy food choices. and supporting companies to provide healthy eating options for employees.
Ireland also performed poorly when it comes to launching evidence-based labeling and the need for food composition targets for processed foods.
Four main gaps were identified: these included government inaction on introducing targets for meals outside the home; do not restrict the promotion of unhealthy food for children on food packaging; no discernible progress in the public sector to provide and promote healthy food options, and a failure to implement policies that encourage the availability of nutritious food outlets.
However, it found that Ireland has a good rating to ensure the public has access to nutrition information.
It also found that Ireland has come a long way in tracking the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population.
“The government must seize the opportunity to improve the diets of the Irish population, prevent obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases by investing in the kinds of policies and programs that have proven successful in several countries,” said the Dr. Harrington. .
Doing so would improve health and offset the long-term health care costs associated with obesity.
There were five priority policy recommendations that emerged from the report.
These included the introduction of nutritional standards for schools, including grocery stores, the establishment of a committee to monitor and evaluate food-related income support programs for vulnerable groups, and the delineation of the tax on non-food. healthy to subsidize healthy choices for disadvantaged groups.
The introduction of “no fry zones” planning legislation to prohibit the location of unhealthy food outlets within 400 m of primary and secondary schools was also recommended, as well as the implementation of a policy on food standards. nutrition for food and beverage supply in the public sector.
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