A quarter of Ireland's children are overweight. This makes obesity the most common childhood disorder in Europe.
The implications are frightening. And the problem is getting worse.
Obesity is described as a disease in which body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it begins to negatively affect your health. It is measured by waist size and BMI (Body Mass Index).
It costs us a quarter of a billion euro each year to treat, it leads to major health issues such as cancer and diabetes and is, for the most part, preventable.
Not my child, I hear your cry. But how can we be sure we are doing enough and how much exercise should our children really have?
Government guidelines say they should be getting 60 minutes exercise every day.
That can be broken up into 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there. It says we should also encourage our children (and ourselves) to walk to school where possible, and to limit TV and screen time.
Friday is Ireland's first National Fitness day. Over 100 gyms and studios in every county in Ireland will open their doors free to the public in a bid to encourage us to get 'up and at 'em.'
Cork Camogie star, Anna Geary is among those getting involved in the fitness drive by Ireland Active, the group representing the leisure industry. She is also the TV presenter of Irelands Fittest Families, a TV show encouraging families to lose weight sensibly, and together. She believes the seeds of her sporting aspirations were planted in childhood;
"I have my parents to thank for my love of sport. I was lucky in that I had my parents encouraging me to try new sports so while GAA was always my Dad's love I was still involved in badminton and Irish dancing, and I got the opportunity to try new sports. Obviously, when I was four or five it was more about having fun rather than being competitive but starting early gave me that love of all things sport. I would ask parents to encourage their children to try as many sports as possible rather than just the sport that they liked best themselves."
Anna also says we shouldn't underestimate the importance of the mental benefits of exercise. "I credit sport with keeping my mind well during my leaving cert. I think it's really great to just get out there and switch off for a bit"
Here is some more information on the 'come and try' programme running in your locality this Friday 16th September and check out our fitness tips for tummy toning!
