This article is from page 71 of the 2008-01-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 71 JPG
MAJOR improvements are needed to the diets of young people in Ire- land according to an extensive scien- tific study on teens’ diet, which was presented at a RELAY-organised conference in Dublin last week.
The study, which benchmarks di- etary intakes of a nationally repre- sentative sample of Irish teenagers, was carried out by the Irish Univer- sities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA) at UCD and UCC and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food under the Food Insti- tutional Research Measure (FIRM), and co-funded by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The study is described as a valuable
tool for allowing farmers and food producers to tailor product develop- ment based on more healthy lines.
“This is the first comprehensive scientific evaluation of dietary intake in teenagers in Ireland and provides direction for the dietary strategies that need to be established to prevent obesity in Irish teenagers,” said Min- ister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan.
“Funding had been awarded under FIRM for a group of third level re- search projects on developing breads and ready meals with a reduced salt content, and I welcome industry co- operation with this work.”
Stressing the contribution of well focused research to policy making, the Minister said that the earlier Sci-
entific study on children’s diet had provided an evidence base to support the decision to launch the National ‘Food Dude’ programme to encour- age increased consumption of fruit and vegetables by primary school- children, which was run in over 300 primary schools in 2006, and the review and re-launch of the school milk scheme to include a wider range of dairy products.
The study on teens’ diet surveyed 450 teenagers aged 13-17 from sec- ondary schools throughout Ireland during 2005 and 2006, and was car- ried out by researchers in UCD and UCC.
In addition to diet, the study in- cludes direct body measurements on each teenager and provides accurate
data on the extent to which the obes- ity crisis is affecting Irish teenagers. It also included essential information on lifestyle, including physical activ- ity, for both the teenagers and their parents.
“We need clear guidelines for healthy eating for teens – guidelines that focus on appropriate portion siz- es, lower consumption of fat, salt and sugared drinks, and higher intake of vegetables and fruit, fibre, vitamins and minerals,” said Professor Albert Flynn, Department of Food & Nutri- tional Science, UCC.
“The pyramid model used in Ire- land to guide healthy eating, has been completely revised in the US to tackle obesity, and similar revisions need to take place here.”