We're all on the lookout for April Fools gags today, but the state of our health in Ireland is nothing to joke about.
The latest statistics show that Irish men will be some of the fattest in Europe within nine years, equaled only by their obese counterparts in Britain and Lithuania. In fact, they're already well on their way, boasting the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) in Europe.
At current rates of overeating, more than 38 per cent of Irish men will be officially obese by 2025, risking heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, gallbladder disease and gallstones, gout, breathing problems and putting themselves at increased risk of certain cancers.
Irish women are close behind them, with 36 per cent expected to be obese by 2025.
According to the Imperial College London study, published in The Lancet, one fifth of the world’s obese people (a whopping 118 million) live in just six high-income English-speaking countries - Ireland, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.
There are now 641 million obese people worldwide, compared to 105 million in 1975. For the first time, there are more people who are obese than underweight.
Do you think more needs to be done to tackle obesity in Ireland? Share your views on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
