10 April 2018

The overall aim of this EU project was to contribute to halting the rise of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents by 2020. JANPA stands for “Joint Action on Nutrition and Physical Activity”.

Considerable work has been done on the healthcare costs of adult obesity. Impacts of childhood obesity, however, are rarely included in such obesity costing studies. More work was necessary to understand the impacts of childhood obesity as well as exploring non-healthcare (societal) costs in more detail. JANPA Work Package 4 starts to fill this gap by “developing the evidence-based economic rationale for action on childhood obesity”.

The technical objectives of Work Package 4 are:

to describe the lifetime impact and cost of childhood obesity
to assess the benefits of reducing childhood obesity by 1% and 5%.

This was attempted in seven European countries.

Professor Kevin Balanda (kevin.balanda@publichealth.ie) led JANP WP4. The JANPA WP4 costing model was implemented in an adaptation of the UKHF’s existing software.

JANPA WP4 was a very challenging project and its final deliverables are now available. In particular, final figures for Ireland and Northern Ireland are presented in Deliverable D4.6.

JANPA

JANPA WP4

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13 February 2018

The Association for the Study of Obesity on the island of Ireland (ASOI) has successfully changed the word for obesity in the Irish language. ‘Otracht’ was previously the Irish term for obesity. The English translation of ‘otracht’ is critical, negative and derogatory.

“Language is important. The words we choose matter” says Dr Jean O’Connell, Chair of ASOI. “People living with certain stigmatised diseases say that coping with the stigma of the disease is harder than coping with the disease itself. We need to change the way that we talk about overweight and obesity, in every language”.

Niamh Arthurs (Public Health and Clinical Nutritionist, ASOI Education role) addressed this concern with Foras Na Gaeilge. They advised Ms Arthurs to bring the case to the translation section of the Oireachtas in Leinster House. Following discussion, they informed the ASOI that the word ‘murtall’ will be used instead of ‘otracht’ in legislation in Ireland and they will also advise European institutions to use the term ‘murtall’ in future. Foras Na Gaeilge also stated that they would recommend general use of the term ‘murtall’.

'Murtall' the new term for obesity in the Irish Language

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3 February 2018

Ireland’s survival rates for cancer patients have improved significantly – latest figures published by The Lancet

Public Health Alcohol Bill to return to the Oireachtas this week

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris has stressed the importance of taking steps, as a society, to prevent cancer. The Minister was marking World Cancer Day, which takes place every year on the 4th of February.

Minister Harris said “Ireland is making significant strides in cancer control. The latest figures published by The Lancet confirm we are moving up the global rankings and cancer survival rates here have improved significantly. Five-year survival rates for cancer have improved from 44.2% (1994-1998) to 61.1% (2010-2014).

“The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 aims to ensure that survival rates in Ireland continue to improve and that, over the lifetime of this Strategy, Irish survival rates will reach the top quartile in Europe. In achieving this we must also ensure that our services meet the needs of those living with and beyond cancer, from diagnosis and treatment to psycho-social support post-treatment. I am delighted to see a focus on improving the quality of life for cancer survivors through World Cancer Day”

Minister for Health marks World Cancer Day

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10 January 2018

The Wellbeing of the Nation 2017

The number of healthy life years one can expect to experience has increased from 66.9 in 2014 to 67.3 in 2015
The unemployment rate has fallen from 9.8% in 2015 to 8.6% in 2016
Participation in sport among those aged 15 years and older has fallen from 47.2% in 2013 to 45% in 2015

The CSO has today (10^th January 2018) published The Wellbeing of the Nation. This new publication attempts to address the question how do people feel about their lives as a whole.

Commenting on the data, Statistician Damien Lenihan said: “This publication attempts to measure wellbeing, which is influenced by many factors including the economic conditions of the country, the health of its population, and the educational attainment of its people”.
With over 30 indicators across eight areas of society, the key findings of the publication include;

Average household debt has fallen from €93,900 in 2014 to €87,900 in 2015
The percentage of those aged 25 to 64 with third level education has remained constant at 41% between the years 2015 and 2016
The number of homeless people, as measured on Census night increased by 81% between 2011 and 2016 from 3,808 to 6,906 persons
The percentage of adults that think crime is a very serious problem in Ireland has increased from 46% in 2006 to 49% in 2010

Commenting further, Damien Lenihan said: “This publication is a starting point in measuring wellbeing and is an area which will be expanded further in the coming years”.

The Wellbeing of the Nation

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7 November 2017

The National Cancer Registry of Ireland has released its 22^nd annual statistical report. This report summarises cancer incidence, mortality and survival in Ireland for the period 1994-2015, and provides projected estimates for incidence for the most recent three-year period: 2015-2017. The cumulative lifetime risk (to age 75 years) of an invasive cancer diagnosis was approximately 1 in 3 for men and 1 in 4 for women. The absolute risk difference between the most and least deprived 20% of the population was highest for pancreatic (+14%), lung (+9%), colon (+8%), oesophageal (+8%), and ovarian cancers (+7%). Age-standardized rates of all invasive cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)) were 26% higher in men than in women. Overall, taking the first recorded invasive cancer (exc. NMSC) for each patient, the proportion of cases presenting as an emergency was 15% (of all cases whose admission type was known). The cancers with the highest proportion of emergency presentation were: pancreas (34%), lung (26%), ovary (24%) and colon (22%). For all cancer types, patients resident in the most deprived areas were more likely to present as an emergency. For all cancers examined, relative differences by deprivation were substantial, with patients from the most deprived group 25%-67% more likely to present as emergencies, depending on the cancer type (54% for all cancers combined). Similar data on cancer in Northern Ireland is available here.

Cancer in Ireland 1994 - 2015 with estimates for 2015 - 2017: Annual Report of the National Cancer Registry

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24 October 2017

Health Survey Reports 2017

This week data from representative surveys on health behaviours have been made available by the the Department of Health (ROI) and the Department of Health (NI)

Northern Ireland

First results from Health Survey Northern Ireland 2016/17 are now available. This annual survey collects information on the health behaviours of the population in Northern Ireland age 16 and older. Prevalence of smoking has fallen to 20%, with 62% of smokers reporting that they wanted to quit and 75% reporting that they had tried to stop smoking. The proportion of the population eating 5 or more portions of fruit or vegetables in a day rose from 37% to 43% over the last two survey years. 36% of the adult population are overweight, and 27% are obese, with no increase on last year but a general upward trend in obesity over the decade.

Republic of Ireland

The publication of the Northern Ireland data coincides with the publication of data from the Healthy Ireland Survey 2017 in the Republic of Ireland. The key findings include: smoking is down 1% from 2015 figures to 22%; 76% of Ireland have drank alcohol in the past year, up 1% from 2016; the daily consumption of sugar sweetened drinks is up 2% from 2016 to 16%; 62% of Ireland is overweight or obese, up 1% from 2015. This year, there is data on four new topics – active travel, sexual health, antibiotics and breastfeeding. 18% of Ireland uses active travel as part of their daily journey to work or education. 21% and 22% have had a HIV and STI/STD test, respectively, in their lifetime. In the previous 12 months, 39% were prescribed antibiotics. 49% of those with children indicated that at least one of their children has been breastfed.

Health Survey (NI) 2016/17

Healthy Ireland Survey 2017

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19 October 2017

Off to a good start? Primary school experiences and the transition to second-level education

Strong maths skills at primary level and positive student-teacher relationships at second level key to transition

Growing Up in Ireland today (19 October 2017) publishes a new report from the study on young people’s transition from primary to second-level education: Off to a Good Start? Primary School Experiences and the Transition to Second-Level Education, by Emer Smyth, ESRI. The report is being launched by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, TD, at an event held at the ESRI.

The transition to second-level education is a major landmark in young people’s lives, as they adjust to new teachers, new school subjects and new friends. Off to a Good Start? looks at the way in which primary school experiences can provide a crucial foundation for a successful transition to second-level education. The findings are based on interviews conducted with young people when they were 9 and 13 years of age, as well as interviews with their parents and questionnaires completed by their principals and teachers. The report emphasises young people’s own views and perspectives, highlighting important issues for policy development and school practice.

Off to a good start? Primary school experiences and the transition to second-level education

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10 August 2017

Working Together for Better Health & Wellbeing: Understanding What Works

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and partners (Department of Health (NI), Department of Health (RoI), Public Health Agency, Centre of Excellence for Public Health (QUB) and the Health Service Executive) are organising a one day conference to share learning and facilitate discussion on what works in public health in Ireland, North and South.

Keynote speakers: Prof Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health & Wellbeing, Public Health England and Gerry Power, Programme Director for Co-production, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland.

Parallel sessions will run throughout the day with twelve workshops covering a wide range of public health topics: Active Ageing, Children & Young People, Healthy Communities – Physical Activity, Wellbeing Services, Infectious Diseases, Participation & Public Involvement, Making Use of Research & Data, Healthy Eating, Mental Health, Healthy Workplaces, Alcohol, and Tobacco.

Registration and full conference programme to follow

Working Together for Better Health & Wellbeing: Understanding What Works

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13 March 2017

The Health Well welcomes the ARK as its latest partner website

A joint resource between the two Northern Ireland universities, ARK was established in 2000. ARK has a single goal: to make social science information on Northern Ireland available to the widest possible audience. Users include researchers, teachers, schoolchildren, policymakers, journalists, community/voluntary sector workers and anyone with an interest in Northern Ireland Society and Politics.

ARK seeks to build both a solid infrastructure and increased capacity as social policy issues have come under fresh scrutiny across all areas, a lobbying culture has emerged and with it the opportunity to stimulate public debate on these issues.

ARK has four main areas of work

Surveys
Conflict, Politics and Elections;
Policy Research and Resources;
Outreach, Dissemination and Training

To view ARK page on The Health Well, click here

To Search all ARK resources on The Health Well, click here

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23 February 2017

Eating 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day may give us longer lives, say researchers

The study, by Imperial College London, showed that while eating the recommended five a day still helps reduce the risk of disease, the highest benefits are seen in people who consume 10 portions and calculated such eating habits could prevent 7.8 million premature deaths each year. A portion counts as 80g (3oz) of fruit or veg - the equivalent of a small banana, a pear or three heaped tablespoons of spinach or peas. The team also identified specific fruit and veg that reduced the risk of cancer and heart disease. Lower risks of cancer were linked to eating; green veg (eg spinach); yellow veg (eg peppers), and cruciferous vegetables (eg cauliflower). Lower risks of heart disease and strokes were linked to eating; apples; pears; citrus fruits; salads; green leafy vegetables (eg lettuce) and cruciferous veg.

For more information, click here

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