Recession can result in more childhood obesity

THE RECESSION could lead to an increase in childhood obesity, a European expert on the issue is to tell an audience in Dublin.

Luis Moreno, Professor of Public Health at the University of Zaragoza in Spain, is among experts addressing the 19th annual World Conference on Childhood Obesity. The conference, hosted in Ireland by Trinity College Dublin, opened yesterday and runs for three days.

Prof Moreno will speak tomorrow on securing food quality at a time of economic uncertainty. He says poorer children are more likely to suffer obesity, and so there is a concern that childhood obesity among the poorest socio-economic groups will increase as more people become unemployed and the family’s focus moves to filling rather than nutritious food.

Prof Moreno says children from lower socioeconomic groups have been found to eat fewer fruits and vegetables, and to choose foods low in fibre and high in fat. “While socioeconomic inequalities in diet have been documented, the mechanisms underlying these inequalities are poorly understood. Recently, increased attention has been paid to the role of social and environmental influences on food choice.”

He says lack of availability of healthy food choices in shops in poorer areas was a contributory issue.Cost was another obvious factor. “Not surprisingly, the lowest-cost diets are also the least healthy. In general, high-energy density diets are associated with lower costs, whereas nutrient-dense diets are associated with higher costs. One recent study reported that the cost of substituting healthier foods can cost up to 35-40 per cent of an American low-income family’s food budget.”

Other issues facing poor families include an emphasis on maximising calories and minimising waste; the risk of waste associated with trying a new food; the isolation and boredom of poverty which can lead to snacking and skipping meals, and lack of a family car to reach more varied and cheaper shops.

Hilary Hoey, Professor of Paediatrics at Trinity College, said Ireland had one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world.

Opening the event, the President, Mary McAleese, referred to the fact poverty and childhood obesity were often linked. “That reality challenges us to overcome the socioeconomic barriers that prevent children’s access to a balanced diet and to physical and leisure activities.” Describing medical risks for obese children – type two diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease – as “devastating”, she said social consequences were no less real.