AN Irish obesity expert reckons Ireland needs to start treating junk food in supermarkets “like cigarettes” as Christmas sweets hit the shelves.
Health campaigner Donal O’Shea said he was outraged to see family-size boxes on sale for as little as €3.99.
Although supposedly aimed at early Christmas shoppers, Dr O’Shea believes it’s putting too much temptation in people’s hands.
He is urging parents to “go easy on the treats. Be a hero. Be tough. Because you have to be tough in the face of the industry.”
Speaking on RTE Radio, he said: “When you realise that there’s maybe two or three days of your total energy requirement in one of those tubs for €3.99.”
Boxes of family favourite chocolates have been “stacked high” in a number of stores at cheap prices the past few weeks.
‘STACK THEM HIGH’
The HSE’s Clinical Lead for Obesity said: “That’s the slogan, stack them high, sell them cheap, target kids.
“It’s been going on for the 20 years that I’ve been involved in a kind of strategy around managing overweight and obesity.
“And over those years, the industry has given, you know, year on year commitments to looking at where they place products and looking at how they promote them.”
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According to Prof Donal O’Shea, a tub that’s now selling for €3.99 can have 4,000 kilocalories in it.
He explained that 90 per cent of the industry is targeting the high fat, high salt, high sugar, low price.
Dr O’Shea added: “If you get children hooked young to frequent treats, the brain becomes habituated to that and once more.”
He believes supermarkets are not “playing their part” and is calling for stricter legislation.
And he highlighted this “ongoing misbehaviour” happens “unashamedly front and centre, when you walk into the store and unashamedly front and center, when you’re asked to cash payout.”
He believes more needs to be done and reckons treating sweets like cigarettes and alcohol may be the answer.
He said: “When you can’t do it by countering the messaging, I think you do have to look at a legislative approach and I think you do have to look at plain packaging that’s been shown in other countries to reduce consumption.”
LOCKDOWN WEIGHT
The impact of Covid 19 has affected people already struggling with weight issues and lockdown may have been the start of a weight battle for others.
The professor warned: “We have a severe problem with severe and complex obesity. We have a problem with overweight and obesity in our children.”
“A kid’s job is to get as much of the high fat, high salt, high sugar as they can because the brain loves that.
“That’s what the food industry feeds off, finding the bliss point so called for sugar, fat and salt content, that will appeal to the three year old brain and appeal to the five year old brain.”
The HSE recently launched a new initiative to tackle obesity called the Model of Care for the Management of Overweight and Obesity.
