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Doctors call for 20% budget tax on sugary drinks | Irish Examiner

October 7, 2013

Peter Singhatey Irish News Health, Ireland, obesity, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Doctors call for 20% budget tax on sugary drinks | Irish Examiner.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland also called for a review of how sugary drinks are promoted and the effect their consumption has, particularly on children.

Donal O’Shea warned that such drinks provide no nutritional benefits but are linked with weight gain.

“With one in four Irish schoolchildren classified as overweight or obese, we have an epidemic and the Government must take action,” said Prof O’Shea, a hospital consultant.

“There is widespread agreement among health professionals, now backed by a convincing body of evidence, that sugar-sweetened drinks, including sports drinks, and their pattern of consumption, are significant factors in weight gain and obesity, especially among children,” he said…

Children ‘collateral’ victims of drink sector sport sponsorship | Irish Examiner

March 15, 2013

Peter Singhatey Irish News Health, Ireland, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Children ‘collateral’ victims of drink sector sport sponsorship | Irish Examiner.

Children are the “unfortunate collateral damage” of sports sponsorship by the drink industry, a seminar on alcohol has heard…

Ms Ryan said alcohol sponsorship was “not altruistic”, but a calculated trade off: “You give us access to the young male markets and in return we give you money. Are we willing to accept this trade off? The unfortunate collateral damage are children.”

She said alcohol had become so normalised in shopping that it was pushed as “just another grocery”.

Prof Barry of Trinity College Dublin said there was a growing view in society that something had to be done, but he added: “There is no evidence to show that is shared by the Government. That’s the worrying matter. Politicians have done very little; they have done a disservice to the State.”

Woman’s 10-litre a day Coke habit factor in death | Irish Examiner

February 13, 2013

Peter Singhatey Medical, World News Coca Cola, Health, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Woman’s 10-litre a day Coke habit factor in death | Irish Examiner.

A New Zealand woman’s 10-litre a day Coca Cola habit was a major factor in her death, a coroner found. And now the coroner is urging the soft drink giant to put health warnings on its caffeinated products…

Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com

December 26, 2012

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Health, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com

via Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com.

Not long ago few doctors – not even pediatricians – concerned themselves much with nutrition. This has changed, and dramatically: As childhood obesity gains recognition as a true health crisis, more and more doctors are publicly expressing alarm at the impact the standard American diet is having on health.

“I never saw Type 2 diabetes during my training, 20 years ago,” David Ludwig, a pediatrician, told me the other day, referring to what was once called “adult-onset” diabetes, the form that is often caused by obesity. “Never. Now about a quarter of the new diabetes cases we’re seeing are Type 2.” …

‘Diabesity’ the new big thing

November 20, 2012

Peter Singhatey Irish News Health, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

‘Diabesity’ the new big thing.

We are heading towards an epidemic of diabetes that threatens to bankrupt our healthcare systems

The incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide. In Ireland the latest figures by the Institute of Public Health showed that in 2010 more than 10 per cent of adults aged 55 and over have diabetes. More than 41,000 (2.7 per cent) adults aged 45 years and over have undiagnosed diabetes. Diabetes is also more common among older people.

The cause of this is very clear. We are becoming increasingly obese as a population, and the relationship between obesity and diabetes is well established. In fact, the term “diabesity” has been coined to link the relationship between increasing obesity and associated type 2 diabetes.

Some 90 per cent of the world’s 285 million people with diabetes have type 2 which is directly related to obesity. Richard Schulze of the Schulze Diabetes Institute in the US said “the increasing prevalence of obesity – fuelled by excessive calorie intake, suboptimum dietary quality and sedentary lifestyles – is driving this epidemic”…