A new report shows two out of three Irish adults are at an unhealthy weight, with almost 25% being obese. The study, Dietary Habits of the Irish Population, which was funded by the Department of Health, says Irish people eat too many foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt. A major concern in the Irish diet is the over-consumption of foods from the top level of the so-called food pyramid such as oils, butter, cakes and biscuits. These are meant to be used sparingly, less than three servings a day. But the survey found Irish people are eating 7.3 servings of these foods, which are high in fats and sugar. Another measure used in the survey is called central obesity - it is based on waist size. 47% of men, and 70% of women were defined as centrally obese. This can lead to a higher risk of diabetes or heart disease. It found many people do not eat enough fibre, Irish women do not get enough calcium or iron, and most eat far too much salt. 71% exceeded the recommended 6 grams of salt per day - and these figures do not include the salt added during cooking or at the table, so the true salt intake is actually much higher. A third of salt intake comes from cereals, bread and potatoes. The Department of Health says it will publish a National Nutrition Policy aimed at young people next year, and is working under an EU framework to reduce salt content in our food by 16% over the next four years.
Wikipedia wrote: Central obesity, the "apple-shaped" obesity commonly referred to as belly fat, is the accumulation of visceral fat (fat deposited between the internal organs in the torso) resulting in an increase in waist size. There is a strong correlation between central obesity and cardiovascular disease.[1] While central obesity can be obvious just by looking at the naked body (see the picture), the severity of central obesity is determined by taking waist and hip measurements. The absolute waist circumference (>102 centimetres (40 in) in men and >88 centimetres (35 in) in women) and the waist-hip ratio (>0.9 for men and >0.85 for women)[1] are both used as measures of central obesity. In the scientific experiment known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), which included almost 15,000 people, waist circumference explained obesity-related health risk significantly better than the body mass index (or BMI) when metabolic syndrome was taken as an outcome measure.[2]
Aidric wrote: » It's nice to see Mary Harney leading by example on this one.
MooseJam wrote: » I've said it before but it should be made ilegal to sell clothes over a certain size like maybe size 10
murfie wrote: » I would be inclined to believe this. sounds about right to me when all you see if fatties in the bars and nightclubs in Ireland. And its only getting worse unfortunately.
Lirange wrote: » Real women have flab flaps.
Melange wrote: » Sure, there are quite a few overweight/obese people out there, but 70%? Wow. I would have put the number at less than half that.
rarnes1 wrote: » flabby flaps?
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