Sir, – Dr Muireann Cullen’s piece (Opinion, August 15th) raised the point that we need to redesign our cities so as to encourage citizens to get more exercise. Michael O’Shea, chief executive, Irish Heart Foundation (August 16th) disputed the emphasis of Dr Cullen’s article. He stressed the role of unhealthy foods and, rather inexplicably, accused the Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF) of being “disingenuous” for neglecting this factor.
It’s not a matter of one or the other: obesity has a number of factors. Food and the structure of suburban life are among these. There is no need for the Irish Heart Foundation and the NHF to be in disagreement about obesity. Dr Cullen makes this point: “The market forces which impinge on public health must be tackled.” This means tackling the building industry which likes to build low-density suburban housing. This also means tackling the purveyors of high-sugar, high-fat food. It means making people understand that commuting and the suburban way of life are bad for their health. It will take co-operation and unanimity on the part of health organisations to shift public and political opinion.
We, as a society, have made choices which have favoured car-dependency and the oversupply of calories. The “free market” assumptions that have underlain developments of the last 30 years have led us to this point. So long as we assume “market forces” trump other values we will continue to get fat and to build cities not worth living in or looking at. – Yours, etc,