Second Opinion: Are policymakers able to control the obesity epidemic?

Second Opinion: Are policymakers able to control the obesity epidemic?: "When the first National Nutrition Survey was carried out, Ireland had almost no overweight or obese children. In fact, many were too thin. Between 1946 and 1948 doctors measured the heights and weights of 14,835 primary-school children looking for signs of defective nutrition, including rickets and underweight. The study found that height and weight varied depending on social class.
Children whose fathers were unskilled or unemployed were, on average, two inches shorter and up to five pounds lighter than middle-class children. Between 15 and 21 per cent of boys and girls, mostly from poor families, were underweight, and fewer than 1 per cent of children were overweight. Today the reverse is true.
Last month, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) published a new paper on obesity, The Race We Don’t Want to Win: Tackling Ireland’s Obesity Epidemic, which notes that one in four children is now overweight or obese. The RCPI wants school vending machines to stock only healthy options. I couldn’t agree more. When interviewed on RTÉ Radio, Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan said she did not intend to issue a directive to schools on the content of vending machines: “Banning things can be difficult and it doesn’t necessarily stop practices.” In fact, bans work. Has she forgotten the ban on smoking in public places, one of the most successful public health measures ever implemented?"



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