Peter "Just Loves Flying"

Children from poorer homes ‘watch more TV and eat fattier foods’.

CHILDREN from disadvantaged homes consume 23pc more calories than better-off youngsters each day, and spend much more time in front of TV and computer screens.

A new Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) report highlights the widening health and social gap between Irish children by the time they are just five years old. It also lays bare the growing strain placed on families by the economic downturn.  It reveals that the average five-year-old consumes approximately 1,500 calories per day, but children from less advantaged backgrounds, such as lower-income groups, consume 23pc more calories on average each day.  And this higher calorie intake is clearly related to obesity rates. The report also shows that children whose mothers are educated to Junior Cert level or lower are more than twice as likely to be obese (9pc) as those whose mothers have a degree (4pc).