Celtic Tiger spreads its girth

Eamon de Valera's athletic youths and sturdy children romping in fields have turned into fat, unhealthy heart-attack candidates…

Eamon de Valera's athletic youths and sturdy children romping in fields have turned into fat, unhealthy heart-attack candidates, according to the latest reports on obesity in Ireland.

An all-Ireland survey due for release next month is expected to show that almost one in five people on this island is obese - double the figure of just 10 years ago. Leaked reports suggest the survey will show that the average Irish person is almost one stone (about 6 kgs) heavier than in 1990.

Research for the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Study was conducted over three years in a joint project by Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and Coleraine University.

Although there have never been more gyms and leisure centres here, the survey will show that over half the population is overweight. It will also show more men are overweight than women.

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Poor diet, sedentary jobs and lack of exercise are the main explanations for our expanding girths, according to doctors and dietitians.

"People are working longer hours and they are not getting as much exercise as they used to," says Dublin-based Dr Jim Keely. "Business-type people are showing more signs of this. They are running a long-term risk of heart disease. If you are one stone overweight and don't do anything about it, soon you are two stone overweight and so on."

Dr Keely is critical of the amount of time children spend playing computer games and watching television while eating crisps and confectionery.

The Department of Health has highlighted that Irish children have one of the EU's highest consumption rates of confectionery and soft drinks.

"Look at the States and fast-food consumption over there," says Dr Keely. "The trend here is heading in the same direction. Availability is definitely a factor. We just didn't have access to such a selection of fast-food restaurants 10 years ago."

McDonalds is a prime example of the rapid expansion of fast-food outlets in Ireland, having grown from one outlet in 1977 to 57 today. Reflecting the nation's increasing appetite, chains such as McDonald's now offer "supersize" fries and drinks.

"They were introduced last year due to consumer demand," says a spokeswoman for McDonalds. "We found that men, predominantly in the 16 to 24-year-old age group, were looking for more substantial meals."

McDonalds has also noticed an unexpectedly high demand for potato wedges in Ireland. These deep-fried potatoes were introduced as a once-off promotion, but proved so popular the product is being sporadically repeated here.

Fast-food restaurants are not only to blame for thickening waistlines. Irish restaurants have dramatically changed their menus to reflect American and other tastes.

They offer bowls of deep-fried chicken wings and stuffed mushrooms as appetisers, where soup or prawn cocktail would have been the typical choice 20 years ago.

"Eating out is a significant factor in weight increase," says Ms Caitriona Connolly, a dietitian at the Mater Hospital. "People are not cooking as much now so they don't have control over how their food is cooked in restaurants. People are eating high-fat, high-sugar foods and are taking these in large quantities."

Ms Connolly highlights the role of alcohol. "Don't forget that there are a lot of calories in drink. Between that and poor diet and no exercise, it all adds up." She urges parents to look at what their children are eating and to avoid giving them poor habits which could result in health problems in years to come.

The effects of this weight increase have filtered into the clothes we wear. In Dunnes Stores, for example, the best-selling bra-size was 32B in 1980. Five years ago, the most popular size was 34B. Today, the best-selling sizes are 34C and 36C.

But it's not just an Irish phenomenon. The UK Arcadia Group (which includes Principles, Dorothy Perkins and Racing Green) is now in the process of changing the way it sizes clothes. Arcadia carried out a sizing survey on over 3,000 women in the UK and found that shapes had changed substantially since the current dress-sizes were drawn up in 1950.

"Busts are bigger and slightly lower, waists are thicker and hips are slightly larger," says Ms Sandra Bull, Arcadia's head of corporate communications. "The change in waist size was the most significant finding for us. It wasn't a major increase, but was sufficient to be significant. There is no reason to believe that the trend in Ireland is any different."

Clothes to suit our newer, bigger shapes will be in Irish stores from September onwards. Will people notice the difference?

"People won't say `Oh my God, this has been re-sized' but they will notice an almost imperceptible shift in the element of comfort," Ms Bull says.

Ironically, even though we are getting fatter, interest in diet books has waned, according to Eason, the largest distributor of such books in Ireland.

Ms Sally Mimnagh, Eason's book purchasing manager, has noted a shift towards nutrition books rather than the traditional diet books.

"Diet books used to sell ferociously well, books such as the Scarsdale Diet and the F-Plan Diet but they are not the huge sellers they once were. Whatever about people getting fatter, they are not buying more diet books. They seem to prefer nutrition and healthy-eating books."

In the Government's new health strategy, Health Minister Mr Martin says his aim is to encourage more people to consume their recommended daily servings and slim down to a healthy weight.

But whatever the Government does, the buck stops at the individual, according to Ms Connolly.

"The Government has been very good in highlighting Healthy Eating Week every year but they can only do so much. After that, its up to individuals."