Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Health Simon Harris TD and Minister for Health Promotion Catherine Byrne TD have today (Monday) launched the 2019 Healthy Ireland campaign and announced funding of €1 million to boost community engagement on health and wellbeing in every county.
Analysis by the Healthy Ireland Unit in the Department of Health shows that 60% of Irish adults are overweight or obese, with only one in three adults meeting physical activity guidelines or eating enough fruit and vegetables.
This year’s Healthy Ireland campaign aims to address this by encouraging people to make positive choices to improve their health and wellbeing across three main themes – Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Mental Wellbeing.
The 2019 campaign seeks to raise public awareness of gov.ie/HealthyIreland as the place to go that brings trusted sources of information and supports together in one place to help people get started on making healthy changes.
Unveiling the new campaign, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “When you are trying to switch to a healthier lifestyle, it can be hard to know what to do and even where to start. The Healthy Ireland 2019 campaign aims to help you get the information you need to make positive changes to improve your physical and mental health. Through Healthy Ireland, we are growing awareness in every county to make it easier for you to know where you can make that healthy start in your own community so you can eat better, exercise more and feel better. If you want to get started, check out gov.ie/HealthyIreland for more information.”
Speaking at the event, Minister Simon Harris said: “Promoting the health of our population to prevent illness is an essential part of our Sláintecare strategy. Under the Sláintecare Action Plan we will progress a programme to engage and empower citizens in their own health and wellbeing. The new phase of the campaign being launched today will help us get the messages of Healthy Ireland to an even wider audience. The work already underway through Healthy Ireland at national and local level, including through the growing Healthy Cities and Counties initiative, will be expanded as we seek to engage every family and community in improving the health of the nation.”
Minister for Health Promotion Catherine Byrne said: “Our mission is to get the Healthy Ireland message into communities all across the country, so that people can find the information and support to make healthy changes close to home. I’m delighted that we are making additional funding available to every local authority to help boost the work to raise awareness and strengthen connections at local level, so we can bring Healthy Ireland to life in every community. We want everyone, young and old, to feel supported in their communities in taking steps, big and small, towards a healthier lifestyle.”
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health said: “Improving the health of our population is the ongoing priority for all of us who work in the health system, but it’s important to acknowledge that health and wellbeing is also a priority for us as a society. We have made some good progress in implementing Healthy Ireland with significant support from the growing alliance of partners and champions for health and wellbeing across many different sectors, at both national and local level, including local authorities, schools and colleges, workplaces and community groups. A key role for the health system as we move forward is to continue to build capacity in these other sectors so that they can play an even stronger role in leading and sustaining a national movement for health and wellbeing and increasing our collective focus on prevention.”
Notes to the Editor
62% of people were classified as overweight or obese in 2017
Source: Healthy Ireland Survey 2017, page 27
37% of people consume 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day
Source: Healthy Ireland Survey 2018, page 14
Research by the World Health Organization in 2018 shows that only 33 per cent of Irish adults get enough exercise.
Source: WHO Ireland Physical Fact Sheet