GOOD HEALTH is more important than money in the bank. And the positive news is that we are living longer. The average life expectancy for both men and women has risen by three years during the past decade. The bad news is that this improvement will be reversed if we fail to pay attention to the kind of foods we eat and to our excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Not only that, worsening health problems in the population may generate huge economic costs and overwhelm our medical services.
A report from the Health Service Executive warns that the level of obesity is growing rapidly. It says we have less than 10 years in which to modify our eating habits if we are to avoid swamping the health services with sick people. But the notion of swamping the health services has little or no relevance for those individuals who are becoming obese and risking the onset of diabetes. Similarly, it means little to food outlets and manufacturers which produce unhealthy foods with excessive fat, salt and sugar content. A public health education programme is hugely important. But it must be backed by Government action to ensure that ready-made and fast foods are not seriously unhealthy.
For some years the Food Safety Authority has been encouraging manufacturers to reduce the fat, salt and sugar content of their products, but to little effect. The Government has taken a similar, voluntary approach to the sale of alcohol. It is, however, absolutely clear that voluntary arrangements do not work in competitive environments. The time to set challenging standards for these powerful commercial interests, in order to protect the welfare of the public, is now. There is little time left. A public health timebomb has been ticking away for years. It has to be defused. And the Government must play a major role.
Of course parents have a fundamental responsibility. Nearly one quarter of all children are now obese. Yet many parents refuse to acknowledge this reality. Obesity is linked to diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and dementia. Most of all, being seriously overweight practically guarantees poor health in later life.
There is some evidence to show that aspects of the Irish diet have improved in recent years. But much more needs to be done in educating families on cost-effective, healthy eating. The excessive use of alcohol and cigarettes, particularly among young people, remains a serious problem. As with obesity, such threats to public health will have to be tackled on a broad front.