Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative

Obesity in children is an important health concern.

Ireland was one of the 13 countries who have joined the WHO Europe Childhood Obesity Surveillance initiative. This is an ongoing, systematic process of collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of descriptive information to assess trends in childhood body weight in primary school aged children and inform policy decisions to address the risks of childhood obesity. In Ireland, the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive commissioned the National Nutrition Surveillance Centre, based at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science in University College Dublin, to commence this surveillance work among primary school children in the Republic of Ireland.

A communications guide for talking about children’s health and obesity (PDF, size 17.8 MB, 32 pages)

Growing evidence shows that where we live and what we earn shapes the options and opportunities available to us to be healthy. We need policy and practice solutions that take this into account. How we communicate about children’s health and obesity matters because it can fundamentally change people’s understanding of the issue, and the solutions necessary and possible.