Childhood overweight and obesity rates have plateaued in primary school aged children in the Republic of Ireland, reveals research published today in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The study found that although obesity rates remain high, there is evidence that they have stabilised and may be beginning to fall.
The prevalence of obesity dropped from 7pc to 4pc after 2008, the analysis of 14 previous studies of children between 2002 and 2012 found.
Despite the trend, the researchers in University College Cork and University College Dublin warned against complacency.
They say there is some room for cautious optimism but that the current plateau is at an "unacceptably high level".
The study found that up to one in 50 of the primary school children are morbidly obese, and there was no significant change in the rate over the decade.
The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity in children varied from 20pc-34pc. There was little variation in the rate of children over time who were overweight, although the most recent study showed a fall. But this may be due to the young age of the children, who were seven years old.
The Irish studies found that on average the prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in girls than in boys.
The study showed that during the last three decades of the 20th Century, a two to three-fold increase in overweight and obesity prevalence in school age children was reported across regions in North America and Western Europe.
It was forecast that obesity rates would continue to rise in the future but recent studies have showed that rates in developed countries may be starting to stabilise.
Eimear Keane of University College Cork said: "Our research suggests that prevalence rates of childhood obesity in Ireland have levelled off.
"Obesity continues to have a significant impact on health and well-being, therefore policies that tackle the problem should be intensified."
The authors stressed the need to have a standardised method for the conduct of studies that measure overweight and obesity in childhood.
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