Obesity is defined as a disease in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that health is adversely affected.
• Obesity occurs when there is an imbalance between energy intake (food) and energy.
• The overwhelming influences of obesity in 99 per cent of the population are environmental and include marketing, advertising, increasing portion sizes, accessibility and availability of foods and facilities, increased automation and increased car use.
Obesity contributes to high blood pressure, abnormal blood fat levels (affecting LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides), increased blood-clotting tendency and raised blood insulin levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in the world.
• Two out of five Irish adults (46 per cent of men; 33 per cent of women) are overweight.
• One in five (20 per cent of men; 16 per cent of women) is obese. The trend towards obesity in the Republic is increasing. Since 1990 the prevalence of obesity has increased by 67 per cent overall, up 1.25 fold in women (from 13 per cent) and up 2.5 fold in men (from 8 per cent).
• Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of overweight and obesity in men in the EU and the seventh highest prevalence among women.
• Costs for treating obesity in Ireland is estimated at €0.4 billion. The number of premature deaths annually attributable to obesity currently approximates to 2,000.