Economic Considerations of Obesity

Approximately 80% of GP consultations and 60% of hospital bed days are related to chronic illness and their complications, many of which are caused by, or exacerbated by, overweight and obesity. Bariatric surgery, considered the last management option for the morbidly obese, is estimated to cost approximately €30,200 per gastric bypass procedure and €20-€22,000 for gastric banding.

No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means ~ Maimonides.

Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

Well, can you limit your sitting and sleeping to 23.5 hours per day? (as in do 30 minutes exercise at some stage during the day???).

A half hour workout equates to roughly 2% of your day.

2%!

You can feel sore tomorrow or sorry tomorrow. You choose.

A Sunday Evening Musing on the Grip of Addiction.

For years addiction therapists and counsellors tended to be people who had been addicts themselves, these days, not so much. Drug and alcohol counsellors who have experienced addiction first-hand represent a dwindling slice of the addiction therapy community. Someone once told me that it isn't possible to become a drug addiction counsellor if you've never been addicted to drugs like heroin, cocaine and so forth. Or you wouldn't be a very good one at least. While they were no addict themselves it did get me thinking, and in a sense I could see the point through their naiveté.

 

I think that's probably like saying you can't help someone suffering from alcoholism because you aren't an alcoholic; or that you wouldn't be able to deal with suicide bereavement because you never tried taking your own life; or a paedophile needs to be reformed and rehabilitated by a former paedophile. I mean that may sound like a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, but their opinion is not too dissimilar.

 

I don't think that all addictions should have to be approached and individually tailored to the client presenting. William S. Burroughs remarked before, whether ''you sniff it, smoke it, eat it, or shove it up your ass, the result is the same - addiction''. Sure, a heroin addict is going to have a different set of circumstances when trying to avoid their substance, than say an alcoholic, who would be presented with far more opportunities to access and even come into contact with the substance they're trying to avoid. The 'availability hypothesis' states that the greater the availability of a drug in society, the more people are likely to use it and the more they're likely to run into problems with it (Thompson, 2012). The alcoholic's addiction is given extra traction by the innumerable ways society shoves it in their face. It's actively encouraged, under-priced, and sold aggressively. Sure what the hell are ye doing without a pint in yer hand?

''The essential process of addiction is the replacement of people with things. Addicts form primary relationships with objects and events, not with people. In a relationship with an object, the addict can always come first'' (Thompson, 2012).

 

But what's driving the addiction? It is at the end of the day a mixture between psychology and physiology. Psychologically, it's a cognitive battle. Respite only comes from changing your thinking and you won't be able to change anything if you don't change the thought patterns. But how does an addict attempt to change their biology? Physiologically, all addictions are going to have their roots in the major reward centres of the brain. The pleasure pathways. The networks that quash all the aversive psychological effort and scream far louder than most people can cope with.

Addicts go for pleasure even if it is detrimental to their lives. It is often the thoughts of withdrawal that poisons the outlook of an opiate addict. A psychological fear of an impending physiological nightmare. They can say they won't use anymore, but when the body starts to go into the initial phase of withdrawal, nothing will make sense to the person other than another hit to dampen the pain. It's cyclical. It's tragic. For some people, there really is no silver spoon but plastic spoons and dope; but heroin addicts should be treated like patients and not criminals foremost. You have to deal with person - not the crime of using heroin.

It's similar reward paths for tobacco. It has in fact been argued that giving up cigarettes is analogous to that of opiate withdrawal. But who gives a sh*t about the cigarette smokers, it's only a drug that kills over 5 million people annually worldwide. For heroin, a conservative estimate recorded 7,630 drug-induced deaths in EU member states and Norway in 2009, with the majority of these related to opiate use. It accounts for the greatest numbers of deaths related to drug use in Europe; Ireland having the highest rate of heroin use in Europe with just over 7 cases per 1000 population. There's no denying that these figures are a paltry sum in comparison to tobacco products. 

 

''None would argue that gambling is a vice, one in which most of us indulge from time to time without harm. But as with all vices, there is the problem of overindulgence, or addiction'' (O'Brien, 1995). Often in the mire of an addiction, people become detached from the things that had a lot of meaning for them. But there's always a choice point for people. I mean gamblers know over the long term that the house will always have the edge. But does that stop them from throwing down weekly wages on bets when the electricity's gonna be cut off at home? You can bet your arse it doesn't. Right there and then, reward circuitry, pleasure, the immediacy of positive feelings. The guilt hides out back and doesn't show up till later, if at all. Same physiology.

What about sex addiction? Is this just a fancy term for promiscuity? If I was arsed I'd have researched it more, but the closest I have for now is relating to a Freud remark in the early part of the 20th century, ''Masturbation is a shortcut between desire and satisfaction, allowing the subject to by-pass the external world''. Again, replacing people - the addict wins. And win they do! To be honest if you want a good representation of sex addiction then just watch Shame with Michael Fassbender.   

Then there's food addiction, I mean a lot of people nowadays have a private relationship with food, they'll hide their negative eating habits behind closed doors and comfort eat. This isn't anything new. It only takes a quick look up and down the high street to see who's wearing in public the unhealthy choices they're making in private. There's a modern plague of obesity happening in a world where 'cupcakes are the new cocaine' (Thompson, 2012). Again, it harks back to the same underlying physiological roots.

Drug use is human. It has been around since day one. It will never go away. We use addiction to resolve our problems. People are constantly chasing the semblance of happiness and we are pushed in the direction of addictive solutions (Loose, 2012). People are hooked on gadgets and technology. Billions are spent on trying to be beautiful. You're being force-fed the ''you're worth it'' type of attitude, and you god damn well better be hungry. It really is incessant. People are looking for an effect from their consumption; preferably something physical and immediate please.

Drug-use is an extremely effective way of dealing with suffering; it brings immediate relief. For some people, addiction is something that stabilises their structure, ''this is why I worked all day for old douchebag up in the insurance brokers shitbox, now I'm letting loose''. Back to reality. Sometimes however the hooks can go deep, and deeper yet again, before they know it, it's a full on marathon just to keep up. Addiction of any form is a struggle that shapes many peoples day to day lives and it's a difficult terrain to navigate. It's toxic. It's a sickness. But for a lot of people it's not about getting them to be extremely happy again or an attempt to cure. It's about getting them back to 'zero'.

I think in essence addiction is a very personal thing, not something that is the sole realm of ex-addicts. Indeed an ex heroin addict would be an excellent person to learn from in dealing with a heroin addiction. With addiction though, experts talk treatment, not cures. Edward de Bono remarked that an expert is ''someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore''. What can be learned from an addict is immeasurable; the patterns, the pitfalls; and the lies and excuses one will believe that stoke the furnace of addiction. So in that sense ex addicts are probably the real experts.

But there's just one little hair in the soup; the world isn't filled with ex-addicts.  So to say that addiction can't be dealt with from a qualified professional angle, is quite obtuse and frankly utter nonsense.

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"...addiction implies in most cases the avoidance of the social bond with other people. It is for this reason that the term a-diction is appropriate as it indicates that addiction is largely a matter of avoiding speech, language, communication, symbolisation and representation"
                                                                                                                       ~ Rik Loose (from 'Addiction in Modern Times')

Game of Thrones

All men must die ... be unethically labelled.

The Hound

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and recurrent thoughts and images. PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.

John Snow

Martyr Complex - in psychology, a person who has a martyr complex, sometimes associated with the term victim complex, desires the feeling of being a martyr for his/her own sake, seeking out suffering or persecution because it feeds a psychological need. In some cases, this results from the belief that the martyr has been singled out for persecution because of exceptional ability or integrity. Other martyr complexes involve wilful suffering in the name of love or duty.
 

Tyrion Lannister

''I'm not a fighter, I'm a bleeder''

Small Man Syndrome - a popular term for the inferiority complex that short men in society are commonly assumed to possess, which causes them, at least per theory, to overcompensate by trying harder than men of average height in life’s activities.

Nothing some lemon cake won't sort out.

Sansa Stark
The Masochist - a person who obtains a primary or secondary gain from tolerating mental abuse from those in his or her circle of contact. The word  masochistic  is now commonly used to describe personality traits in an emotional, rather than sexual sense. 

Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg (Giant)
Marfan Syndrome - a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. People with Marfan tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers. In most cases, Marfan syndrome is passed down through families (inherited). However, up to 30% of patients have no family history, which is called "sporadic." In sporadic cases, the syndrome is believed to be caused by a new gene change.

''Couldn't give a monkeys mate''

Joffrey Baratheon
Anti Social Personality Disorder - a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional - and destructive. People with antisocial personality disorder typically have no regard for right and wrong and often disregard the rights, wishes and feelings of others. Those with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others either harshly or with callous indifference. They may often violate the law, landing in frequent trouble, yet they show no guilt or remorse.

Reek
The Cataleptic - a body's persistence in unusual postures, with waxy rigidity of the limbs, mutism, and complete inactivity, regardless of outside stimuli.

He's available for children's parties too.

Ser Gregor Clegane
The Sadist - someone who enjoys inflicting pain on others; a sadist is all about hurting others, usually to get off sexually. However, this word is about more than sex. Anyone who is mean and enjoys it, like a bully, could be considered a sadist. The word sadistic is now commonly used to describe personality traits in an emotional, rather than sexual sense. Oh Mountain, you're going to be so annoyed when we explain all these jokes later.





 

Samwell Tarley
The Obese - excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. I've seen less bloated men dredged out of rivers. Forget about White Walkers and sealing the tunnel, it's time to plug up Tarley's top-hole.

''Wat ye fookin say about me curls Snow?''

Ser Alliser Thorne

The Narcissist - an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.


 

''Not to be technical brother, but according to Pycell's
chemistry - alcohol is a solution''

 

 

Cersei Lannister
Alcoholism - a chronic disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction. Forget about the simple Lannister cousin and his beetle smashing, it's the grape apocalypse that's more concerning. I think it's time to put the plug in the jug.

 

 

Anyone for bitty?

Robin Arryn
Oedipus Complex - a child's positive libidinal feelings toward the parent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that develop usually between the ages of three and six and that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved - used especially of the male child.


 

 

 

''Twerkin' ye say?''

 

Grand Maester Pycelle
The Malingerer - fabricating or exaggerating the symptoms of mental or physical disorders for a variety of "secondary gain" motives, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.

 

 

She seems vexed...and yet she looked
so relaxed in the bath this morning?

 

 

Jorah Mormont
Obsessive love - a hypothetical state in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess another person toward whom they feel a strong attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection.

 

Always. Always. Wear a helmet.

Oberyn Martell
The Sex Addict - ''Make sure you f**ked your fill before that day.''

The gene pool could do with a little chlorine

Lysa Arryn

Delusional Jealousy - a person with this delusion falsely believes that a spouse or lover is having an affair, with no proof to back up their claim. Othello Syndrome is a type of delusional jealousy, marked by suspecting a faithful partner of infidelity, with accompanying jealousy, attempts at monitoring and control, and sometimes violence. The problem is named for Shakespeare’s Othello, who murdered his beautiful wife Desdemona because he believed her unfaithful.



 

Hodor's date night was heating up.

Bran Stark
The Psychotic -  an abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality".

Tywin Lannister
The Megalomaniac - ruthless, ambitious, amoral and the lust or craving for power. An arrow hurts just the same whether it's on the Iron Throne or the porcelain throne.

Drogon
The Pyromaniac - a mania for fire setting.










Podrick Payne
Casanova - What happened in that room?

Walder Frey
The Wedding Crasher
Back stabber
Bastard
[insert your own]

''It's sweaty balls up in here...''

Varys
Castration Complex - I suppose?

The armour discretely covered
her 'Who's the man' tattoo

Brienne of Tarth
Masculinity Complex - looks as though she could punch a train unconscious. Enough said.







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''Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.''
                                         ~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones    

"This is (probably) why you're Fat"



If you just consume fewer calories you'll lose weight. Unfortunately not always.

Most of us think that we only put fat in our fat cells when we eat too much. Your fat cells are like rechargeable fuel cells, every time you eat, you store some fat. In between meals, fat comes out of your fat cells to provide the fuels for your muscles and organs. If you're naturally thin, it's because you have efficient fat cells. Fat goes in quickly and comes out easily. Your body doesn't need much fat because the small bit of fat you do have is a reliable source of fuel. If you're predisposed to be fat, it's because you have 'greedy fat cells'.

 

When you eat you tend to store calories as fat instead of burning them. And when your other tissues need those calories, the fat comes out slowly, if it comes out at all. So if you don't eat, you start to starve at the cellular level. So you do exactly what your body is telling you to do - you eat more. In other words,

 

You're not getting fat because you're eating more,

You're eating more because you're getting fat!

 

 

If your fat cells are slow to release fuel, your body actually works to make them bigger. And they keep on getting bigger until they can release the energy that your body needs. This could mean gaining a little weight or it could mean gaining a lot! It all depends on how slowly your fat-cells release their fat. Most of us aren't born with 'greedy fat-cells', but we can certainly make them that way. When you eat too many carbohydrates, you raise your blood sugar. Since high blood sugar is toxic, your body releases insulin to bring it down. But your body can only burn a little bit of sugar at a time. So what happens to the rest of it? Your storage sites for carbohydrates are limited and you've got unlimited storage places for fat. So the body just ends up converting the carbs in to fat. And after bringing down your blood sugar, your insulin does its other job, it tells your body to store fat.

Insulin stimulates an enzyme called lipoprotein-lipase which sends fat into the fat cells. So if insulin is elevated, this lipoprotein-lipase production is really activated and it sends fat 'like crazy' into the fat cells. So if you eat a lot of carbohydrates, your insulin goes up and you begin storing fat in the fat cells.

Intra-abdominal (visceral) fat is a major culprit for insidious
effects to a person's health including; cardiovascular
disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

When you have a healthy metabolism, it only takes a little bit of insulin to bring your blood sugar down and then everything goes back to normal. But over time, that can change. Cells can become resistant to the effects of insulin, so when that happens, insulin is talking with the cells, but they're not listening! They don't do what they're supposed to do. And so your body does what it has to do, it starts producing more insulin. So you've reached a point where your insulin is high just to keep your sugar levels normal, even if your not eating any sugar. When that happens, your insulin is driving fat into the fat cells and you've reached this point where all of a sudden - Bam! You get fat.

And you get fat even though you're eating the same number of calories you always did. Because now you have greedy fat-cells. So you do what the ''experts'' tell you to do, you go on a low fat, low calorie diet so you can burn your own body fat for fuel. But there's just one little problem with this: if too many carbs are keeping your insulin high, the insulin is telling your body to store the fat instead of burning it. Now you're really starving inside!

So once again your body does what it has to do: it slows down your metabolism. You stop losing weight and you get tired. And people can end up being, in most cases, larger than they were when they started out - but now with a lower metabolic rate. And this can be extremely frustrating for many people.

For every pound of fat you put on, you gain 7 new miles of blood vessels!

So some people get fat and stay fat because they're living on foods that tell their body to store the calories in their fat cells - which just makes you hungrier. In some people the fat-cells and the other tissues become insulin resistant at about the same rate. The good news for them is that they don't gain weight, the bad news is that insulin resistance can kill you even if you're skinny.

The demanding of your pancreas that it produce ever greater amounts of insulin to keep your blood sugar normal, is ultimately going to cause 'beta-cell burnout'. So the pancreas is producing all it can produce and that's not enough anymore. When that happens, the beta-cells get damaged, they can't produce anymore and your blood sugar goes up and now you're becoming diabetic. And further, when your blood sugar goes out of control, it can damage your arteries and lead to heart disease.



It's not easy struggling with something that keeps you alive. But you can blame away, you are in charge of yourself. There's no one giant step that does it, it's a lot of little steps. And that doesn't just relate to putting the weight on, but also for getting rid of it. Human nature is very addictive and human nature is very flawed. It is extraordinary that it takes such a long time for the penny to drop with some people. But it shouldn't be a surprise as the seeds of it are really deep. All the problems of being overweight are remedial. But the younger you put it on the bigger you can go. And the further you let yourself go, the longer of a battle it is to get back (O'Shea, 2012).

~ (Fat Head, 2009)

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''I found there was only one way to look thin: hang out with fat people'' ~ Rodney Dangerfield


The Crisis Point of Obesity - With Notable Attention on Childhood

A person is regarded as being obese if they are more than 20 per cent overweight. A healthy BMI stops at 25 and the obese range begins at 30. In Ireland, there are people being treated with BMI's above 50! The average weight per person - we are a couple of stone heavier than we were 30 years ago! This country has over 900,000 people who are obese - resulting in the deaths of nearly 6,000 people each year. The annual cost to the healthcare system - 3 billion euros and counting.

Professor Donal O'Shea is synonymous with the fight against obesity in Ireland and paints a dim picture of where this country is heading, ''Nationally we are losing the battle, we are not reacting to it, either personally or as a society. You only have to look to the States and see where they are, it's not a pretty vista ahead'' (see gif below).

Obesity is now recognised as a ‘global epidemic’ by the World Health Organization (National Taskforce on Obesity, 2005). Along with adults, children are affected by obesity and in Ireland alone it is estimated that 300,000 children are currently overweight or obese (NTO, 2005).

Prof. Donal O'Shea

''It's now unusual to be of normal weight. It's no longer a ticking time bomb - the bomb has exploded - we're at the bomb site'' (O'Shea, 2012).

The epidemic of childhood obesity has been highlighted as a major health concern for today’s youth. It was reported in 2005 that an estimated 20 million children worldwide under the age of 5 were obese (World Health Organisation). The suspected causes of obesity are complex and include environmental and heritable factors (Crothers, 2009), along with lifestyle choices (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).

Research also suggests that genetic factors have a role in obesity. With more than 200 genes being linked as possible contributors to obesity, it is highly relevant to look at obesity from a biological point of view. It has been suggested that some people are just predisposed to become overweight, with the heritability of obesity being high (Hinney, 2010), and also the positive correlation between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity influencing early childhood obesity has  been highlighted (Salsberry & Reagan, 2005).

As the obesity number in Ireland nears 1 million, it is clear that we are a country in crisis.

Although research shows that some people with a family history of obesity may be more inclined to gain weight, the recent rapid increase in childhood obesity indicates that lifestyle and not genetic contributions is the primary cause (NTO, 2005).

There's more to life than sitting and eating in front of a television.
 

A lifestyle revolving around the consumption of energy dense foods and a decrease in physical activity creates an environment termed ‘obesogenic’ by the World Health Organization in 1998 (Health Service Executive, 2009). The lifestyle of this environment promotes people to eat too much and exercise too little, creating an energy imbalance which results in weight gain. With a report claiming that children in the United States spend on average 3 hours per day watching television (Committee on Public Communications, 2010), it is possible to see that technological factors could also have a role in promoting an inactive lifestyle. Sedentary behaviours like this are often coupled with eating at the same time (Crothers, 2009). Children spending more time watching television will thus result in less time to engage in physical activities and exercise.

 

The possibility of childhood obesity being determined by Socio Economic Status has been examined as an environmental factor (Stamatakis, 2010). The researchers stated that obesity affects both developed and developing countries alike, but in their study they found that childhood obesity among school children in England had stabilized in recent years, however children from low income households had not benefitted from this trend.

With some of the possible causes being outlined above, what are the health implications for those children affected? The answer is manifold. A result of being overweight can include a lower quality of life (CDC, 2010), an increase in a child’s risk of health problems including; Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many types of cancer in later life as well as shortening overall life expectancy (Health Service Executive, 2011).

Regarding obesity in general, Prof. O'Shea remarks, ''With smoking you can point to the heart, point to the lungs, heart attacks, lung cancer and stroke. But with weight related diseases, it's everything; in the brain, your talking about depression, dementia, oesophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, heart disease, wear and tear on the hip and knees, right down to your big toe and gout. So everything is made worse by being overweight and it's all remedial''.

You move in a cycle of ups and downs - food adds to the ups and simultaneously creates the downs.
 

Obese children are often the target of stereotypes and discrimination, where being a member of a visibly stigmatised group makes it hard to avoid being prejudiced against. Obesity in childhood not only has health implications but also impacts on the child’s psychological well-being.

Over the last three decades our eating habits have changed dramatically, as the country has been flooded with takeaways, hot deli's and breakfast rolls. If you are any way susceptible to temptation, what hope have you? For many, fast food has become a staple.
 



How America's BMI average has increased ~ CDC

''Parents can't let their children drift the way society is encouraging them to drift'' (O'Shea, 2012). Restrictions on unhealthy food advertising has been suggested as one possible method to prevent children from being influenced by these high calorie foods (Udell & Mehta, 2008), while Carter (2002) suggests a balanced diet consisting of no more than 3 meals per day, fewer high calorie foods and the replacement of sugary drinks like soda, to water.

''Our physical education in schools has failed us . . . it should be focused on health and wellbeing, and sport and activity should only be one part'' (Prof. Niall Moynan, DCU).

 




'It doesn't matter how slow you go,
you're still lapping everybody on the couch'

Scientific evidence shows that physical activity (PA) helps to maintain a healthy body weight, with people between the ages of 5 to 17 being recommended to accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity PA daily (World Health Organisation, 2011). Physical activity also contributes to the development of healthy bones, muscles and joints, a healthy cardiovascular system and neuromuscular awareness. These benefits demonstrate the role sports and exercise have for overweight children. But common sense also plays a role. Lucozade Sport is great, but to have a five-year-old child drinking 300 calories and only burning off 100 is defeating the purpose entirely.

The further you let yourself go, the longer of a battle it is to get back.

 

Others highlight behavioural changes to help treat obesity (Stewart, Chapple, Hughes, Poustie, & Reilly, 2008). The authors proposed that the use of behavioural change techniques can enhance the motivation of a child by increasing self-awareness of their lifestyle behaviours. Goal setting for changes in diet and physical activity levels, rewards for achieving such goals and the monitoring of diet and low mobile activities (e.g. viewing television), allows the child to monitor progress towards a healthier lifestyle.

''Once you get over a certain weight, people are getting more despairing - you start giving up, nothing is working and they almost give in to the inevitability of more weight gain. There is no magic solution'' (Ruth Yoder - Senior Psychologist at St. Colmcilles Hospital Weight Management Clinic).
 

Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to promote change in their children. They have an immediate impact on shaping their child’s early food environments, attitudes on nutritional information and eating behaviours such as appropriate portion sizes (Anzman, 2010).
 

The global epidemic of childhood obesity is a modern health concern. Research discussed above suggests that childhood obesity is multi-faceted and has numerous and complex variables. One research paper highlighted that some people are possibly just predisposed to be overweight (Hinney, 2010), but with such a rapid increase in those affected by childhood obesity, the lifestyle choices and environmental factors are the more relevant contributors to the problem. People living in a modern day ‘obesogenic’ environment that nurtures weight gain is a considerable problem. Eating too much food, more time spent on sedentary activities, and a lack of health benefitting physical activities like sport, all invariably lead to weight gain. With more unique research proposals on the causes of childhood obesity being related to  socio-economic status, it could be argued that this problem is more than just genetic or diet related.

''At the moment we have a situation where we are sleepwalking into a condition that is killing between 5000 - 6000 people in Ireland every year'' (O'Shea, 2012).

Along with the stigma of carrying excess bodyweight, the health implications of being obese are paramount. In Ireland, 25% of three-year-olds are either overweight or obese. ''The younger you put it on, the bigger you can go'' (O'Shea, 2012). Children should not have to start out life already one step behind in terms of their health.

There are however ways of combatting these problems. By limiting the exposure of certain food advertising (Udell & Mehta, 2008), changing children’s behaviours and cognitions towards their current lifestyle (Stewart, 2008), increasing their time spent with physical activity (WHO, 2011), some simple diet changes (Carter, 2002), and nutritional education from  their primary caregivers (Anzman, 2010), the children and young adults affected by this current epidemic can start to look at its causes as possibly preventable and start to lose weight while adding longevity to their futures.
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''We're dealing with the kids of 30 years ago, and we're dreading the kids of today in 30 years'' (O'Shea, 2012).