News & Events
7 Point Plan Presented to The Oireachtas
BackDate: 19 Feb 2013
For the last six years we have been asking people to follow our leaders in Operation Transformation to get to a healthy weight and improve the level of fitness. We believe it’s increasingly difficult to be a normal weight child and adult in Ireland and on behalf of our viewers we would like the government to consider seven simple changes that can make it more likely for the next generation to have a better chance of avoiding Obesity and the damage it has on their bodies and minds.
1. Bring Back The Scales.
A few years ago we weighed in children in a school. We wanted to highlight the fact that parents were unaware of what their children should weight. The weighing scales must become part of our life again. In schools children should weight in once a year. Every time you go to your GP or visit a hospital you should get on a scales. Not only will this increase awareness of what the correct weight is it will also allow for intervention before the problem becomes much bigger than it needs to be. If we had this…would Aaron be featured on our show this year. A 12 year old boy from Tallagh, his mother brought him to Operation Transformation because she was worried about his weight. She thought he was 14 stone it turned out Aaron was 21 stone. Weighing and tracking in Schools, at doctor and hospital visits will improve awareness and not let children like Aaron fall through the net.
2. Step It Up
This year we found giving Adults and even more so children a little knowledge goes a long way. By telling children that the target for daily exercise is 15000 steps was a very simple message that they embraced. We need to tell people how much exercise they should be doing and more importantly their children. Knowledge is a powerful thing. For parents and teachers they need to become aware of what exercise their child is currently doing and what they should be doing. If a child isn’t doing their home work it’s noticed…very few take note if a child has not done enough exercise each day. We need to get out a clear easy to follow message on the minimum requirements of exercise for a healthy life. We found once children had the knowledge they embraced it.
3. Fruit At The Check Out
We are grateful every year that super market chains support Operation Transformation by making it easier for people to find the food required for the plan. Having healthy prompts around the shops is a positive thing when people are making choices about what they are buying. How we lay out the world around us indicates our priorities. One of the most valued spaces in a super market is at the Check Out. Right now the priority at most check outs is sweets and sugar drinks. We have to get our priorities right if we are to tackle the obesity epidemic. One simple thing and a powerful message is to swop the sweets for fruit. This is something that has to come from here, it doesn’t cost anything but it’s giving people particularly parents a chance and as a country it’s saying we prefer the healthier choices to be given the best place in our shops.
4. Food Education
Every year on Operation Transformation we discover that leaders know very little about food and cooking skills are minimal. We have a generation of adults unlike their grand parents who have extremely limited cooking skills and knowledge of food. This leads to unhealthy choices – frozen, pre-packed meals many loaded with sugar. We have an opportunity to make sure this doesn’t happen to the children starting school now. We believe there should be basic cooking lessons given to every child at school. Food Education needs to be part of school life for everybody and at a minimum they should know how to cook 5 basic main meals before they leave the education system. This should not be optional, it’s not a subject for an exam it is a basic life skill that is currently disappearing.
5. Fit at School, Fit for Life
If you are a child in a primary school the current commitment to your physical education is one hour a week. This year on Operation Transformation we have highlighted some of the many teachers who go beyond the call of duty and introduce children to sport and exercise but no child should have to hope that some day they will have one of those hero teachers. If a child gets engaged with a sport and a love of exercise at primary level they have a much better chance of continuing it into secondary so we must make Primary PE a priority. Right now with the epidemic we face it’s as important as learning any other subject. Increase the time commitment to PE at Primary. And while we understand in the current climate a PE teach in every primary school is not going to happen we should look at having a 100 PE teachers available to support the 3300 national schools. We are fortunate in Operation Transformation to meet people like Professor Niall Moyna from DCU who think outside the box when it comes to tackling our obesity problem. Niall believes we need to offer an incentive to Pupils at secondary to get them fully engaged and appreciate the value of fitness. The currency as we know in secondary is points on the leaving cert. Pupils and schools want to get the most points they can. To improve the up take on math's points are used as an incentive. If a child is fit at 18 when they leave school they have a much greater chance of being fit for the rest of their life. There is a personal benefit and a benefit to the state. The currency in secondary school is points on the leaving cert, lets give some points for achieving a level of fitness at leaving cert. It’s Niall Moyna’s idea and it’s a good one. It shows we have our priorities right.
6. Count Me In
We began the count me in campaign three years ago after we saw how it was working in New York. It’s very simple, right beside the price on the menu board you see the calories of the item. It’s for food chains and gives people a chance to make an informed decision about what they are buying. Right now there is somebody buying a Muffin and has no idea that muffin contains a quarter of their recommended food in take for the day. The Food Safety Authority surveyed people and industry. 96% of people surveyed want calorie posting – but it must be delivered correctly. The Food Safety authority promised action on this twelve months ago and still nothing. There is talk of a soft approach where chains can make their own interpretation of calorie posting. If we are to give people a chance, offer them clear and consistent information. We need legislation that tells food chains how they should display calories so when you are placing your order you can see clearly how many calories you are about to consume.
7. Treat the Symptoms not the Cause
Last year following a study at Newcastle University where they proved that rapid weight loss could reverse the symptoms of type 2 diabetes we got a person to volunteer to under go the same rapid weight loss treatment here. Before the series was over our volunteer was able to come off his medication. We did it because we wanted to demonstrate to our viewers the direct relationship that your weight has on your body right up to developing a chronic illness that is treated with lifelong medication. We have a culture of writing prescriptions for every ailment but there are weight related illnesses where the prescription should first be weight loss before a cocktail of drugs for life. Not only will this save millions of the health budget but more importantly you are giving the individual a better life if they can reverse the symptoms thought weight loss. We need to change our approach, tackle the weight before committing to tablets for life. We need to engage with frontline medicine and make weight loss the first prescription and mean it and offer real support to make that happen.
People have personal responsibility to look after their own weight and fitness but doing that is now a bigger struggle than ever before. We need to give people the tools to look after themselves, the information to make informed healthy choices and legislation that gives the people of Ireland a chance. Our five leaders have volunteered their road to a healthier life to help others follow. The reality is when the show ends their struggle will continue but they have a better chance than many but it’s not a certainty.
When a group of politicians followed the plan it was inspirational but as many of you could see sticking to the plan after the show is a very different story. Even with all your knowledge and awareness it is extremely difficult in the current environment to sustain a healthy weight. To Negotiate that environment we need clear messages and we appreciate those message may have an impact on commercial interests but this house is about protecting the citizens of Ireland. We don’t have to be the fattest in Europe, We don’t want to be saying that on Operation Transformation in five years time. Knowledge is power, power to change. Give people a chance.
