Children aged under 15 are showing early signs of heart disease and plaque build-up in major arteries to the brain, according to new research.
The findings, which were launched as part of the Aviva Health Schools’ Fitness Challenge, showed that children who rarely exercise had on average twice as much body fat as moderately or very active children.
The study’s main researcher said he hoped the findings would be a wake-up call.
“I’m fed up preaching for the last 10 years about the effect this is going to have on our kids. When you say to a parent ‘your child is overweight or obese’, it doesn’t resonate with them. They don’t see any clinical manifestations,” said Niall Moyna, a professor in Dublin City University’s school of health.
“Now, all of a sudden, we’re saying not alone do they have risk factors for the disease, they actually have the disease process itself, so hopefully this will be a wake-up call.”
About 10,000 people die from heart disease in Ireland every year. One in four Irish children is categorised as being overweight or obese. Prof Moyna said the education and healthcare systems need to act urgently to stop a decline in healthy attitudes.
“Our prevention healthcare budget is non-existant, we give it lip service. Irish healthcare is secondary prevention, you cannot access the Irish healthcare system unless you’re sick, and that’s sad,” he said.
“That’s going to take a seismic shift, both in terms of how we train our physicians, and how we run the healthcare system.”
Republic of Ireland international footballer Stephanie Roche said young girls have traditionally found it difficult to get involved in sports teams and clubs.
“There are obviously different things for girls that get in the way,” she said. “I suppose boys are meant to play football and sports whereas with girls there’s probably some people who’d be saying, ‘oh why are you playing that’.”
Connacht rugby player Robbie Henshaw said “parents can definitely help with their children’s diet to get them into a good routine of eating healthily”.
“If you can encourage your young children and teenagers to get involved in sporting activity and stay active and healthy, it’s a huge improvement for their lifestyle and their future lifestyle as well,” he said.