Dr Eva Orsmond has shared that in her expert opinion, Irish people need more help and education when it comes to things like diabetes and weight loss management, as well as preventative health measures.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning with Ciara Kelly, she lamented the lack of "specific advice" she feels is not available for people in the Irish health care system when it comes to their weight and the management of diabetes.
A report today by the Irish Heart Foundation said we need radical action to deal with rates of cardiovascular disease, and cutting back on things like salt, saturated fats and managing our waistlines are all advised.
Read more: Dr Eva says unhealthy lifestyles and lack of cooking skills play a major role in obesity crisis
Dr Eva shared that while this a practical advice, she feels it is too general.
"Today is World Diabetes Day, which is one of the major killers, but talking about salt and generally about healthy eating, people know all these things," she said.
"What people actually need, we need action that is specific. So people need specific advice, not just telling them they should eat less salt, exercise more, eat less and smaller portions. We need to start educating people and giving them specific advice that they know exactly what to do."
"For example, if you think about that today is World Diabetes Day, and there are over 250,000 diagnosed diabetics in Ireland, and we know that that disease treatment is taking over 10% of the health budget, but still there are hundreds of thousands of people who don't know that Type 2 Diabetes mainly can be reversed, especially if reversal is done within five years of diagnosis," she said.
"People are still very much given the 'pill for every ill' and when they are diagnosed with diabetes they are just told 'oh it will be better if you lose weight and eat better.' Instead of telling them that if they actually lose enough weight, they could reverse the disease and stop the chronic disease."
Claire then asked if the problem was related to people struggling with assigned weight loss.
Echoing her earlier point about a lack of specific advice, Dr Eva said that people should be focused on the importance of things like fibre, grams of vegetables and looking for places to cut down on calories.
"At the end of the day, weight loss is down to energy deficit. Me starting to talk about calories, energy, food, this is very boring, this is not sexy, this is not trendy, Dr Eva said.
"We should start with education, at school level. We should have public health action that is long term."
She said she would be open to weighing children in school, not just to assess if anyone was overweight, but to make sure everyone is on track for their developmental milestones.
In Ireland, 25% of adults are obese, the ninth highest rate in the EU.
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