Survey offers insight into the smoking habits, alcohol consumption, food and nutrition choices and exercise among Irish people.
The survey which was carried out by the Centre for Health Promotion Studies at NUIG (National University of Ireland Galway) was completed by six and a half thousand adults and over eight and a half thousand young people under the age of eighteen.
Participants responded to questions on smoking habits, alcohol consumption, nutrition and exercise, and their answers form the first complete picture of the nation's health and lifestyles.
Most notable is the radical change in drinking patterns among Irish people. Teetotalers are vanishing and a quarter of those adults surveyed consume alcohol above the recommended weekly units. Teenagers are also drinking regularly, and over half the number of children under eleven have also tasted alcohol.
Overall people are healthier, but a third of those surveyed are overweight. While more adult women are on diets, a cohort of teenage girls believe that they need to lose weight.
Among teenagers one third of fifteen to seventeen year olds are regular smokers who show no sign of quitting,
Minister for Health Brian Cowan welcomed the survey publication, saying it will assist future health promotion strategies in taking
A far more scientific approach.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 March 1999. The reporter is Aileen O’Meara.
