Rates of obesity among young girls have increased threefold in the past 15 years, a conference on soft drinks has been told.
Almost one in four Irish eight to 12-year-old girls and one in five boys are now either overweight or obese, according to Dr Sinéad McCarthy, nutritionist with the Irish Universities' Nutrition Alliance.
The home environment had to be targeted in any attempt to tackle obesity because this was where 85 per cent of calories were consumed, she told a forum organised by the Beverage Council of Ireland (BCI).
Research showed child obesity tended to be higher where the mother was obese, while the children of mothers who watched a lot of television also tended to watch a lot of television.
In 1990, 5 per cent of young girls were obese and 10 per cent were overweight but, by 2005, these figures were 14 per cent and 9 per cent.
In the same period, the proportion of obese boys rose from 6 to 8 per cent, and overweight boys rose from 5 to 12 per cent.
In the general population, half of all women and two out of every three men are obese or overweight. Since 1990, obesity has increased 2.5-fold in men.
Dr McCarthy said consumer education had to focus on the amounts of food that people eat, rather than the types. Greater awareness of the importance of portion size was needed.
However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to buy small packets and bottles.
Obesity poses a variety of health risks: obese women, for example, are almost 13 times more likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women with normal weight, and the risk for obese men is five times greater.
Studies of food consumption patterns have shown obese people tend to eat more of a variety of food types, in particular breads and meat, she added. Their average excess energy intake of 271 calories would take five hours to burn off while resting, or one hour out walking.
The amount of food eaten at a typical lunch affects energy intake. Any increase in portion size can lead to a significant increase in energy intake.
Dr John O'Brien, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, said consumer education and better product labelling was needed to tackle the obesity issue. It was better for the EU to introduce a single system of food labelling rather than have individual member states going their own way, as this would lead to confusion among consumers.
Alfie Lydon, president of the BCI, said the soft drinks industry sometimes felt it was being scapegoated in every issue that arose.
"Perhaps we don't extol our virtues as much as might be justified," he said.
Portion size: counting calories and weight
Regular lunch
250ml soft drink
25g crisps
2 slices bread
14g butter
1 slice cooked meat
chocolate bar
TOTAL ENERGY ... = 702 CALORIES
Large lunch
500ml soft drink
40g crisps
3 slices bread
21g butter
2 slices cooked meat
king-sized chocolate bar
TOTAL ENERGY ... = 1,294 CALORIES