Experts are today calling on the Healthy Ireland framework to be aggressively and speedily rolled out to address the looming obesity crisis in Ireland. According to predictions, the country is well on its way to become fattest in Europe in a decade and a half.
Figures yet unpublished by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that Europe is heading for an unprecedented surge in rates of obesity and excess weight, and Ireland is spearheading the trend.
By 2030, the proportion of obese and overweight men in Ireland is projected to rise to 89%, with women following close behind at 85%.
The term “Overweight” is relative though, and it’s clinically defined by a Body Mass Index (a measure relating to height and weight) of 25 to 29.9, and “obese” by a BMI of 30 and above.
For the purpose of this study, the “overweight” category also included people deemed as obese.
Experts said that Ireland is leading the trend because of a lack of activity, especially among young women.