Health 'Good', But NI People Are Fatter

The majority of people in NI regard themselves as being in good heath, even though a majority are now classed as being overweight.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) has published the first bulletin from the Health Survey Northern Ireland 2010/11.

This survey is a new DHSSPS survey that will run every year on a continuous basis. The survey covers a range of health topics that are important to the lives of people in Northern Ireland today.

Among the key findings is news that 85% of respondents indicated that their health has been good or fairly good in the previous 12 months.

But, many NI people are overweight, with 59% of adults measured found to be either overweight (36%) or obese (23%).

A similar proportion of males and females were obese (23%) however males were more likely to be overweight (44%) than females (30%).

In relation to children, aged 2-15 years, 8% were assessed as being obese based on the International Obesity Task Force guidelines, 8% of boys and 9% of girls.

However, 37% of those polled reported that they have a long-standing illness, something that has troubled them over a period of time or is likely to affect them over a period of time.

Similar proportions were found for males and females, 35% and 38% respectively.

When asked how satisfied they were with their life in general, the majority of respondents (88%) indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied and when asked about the life they lead, around nine in 10 respondents describing their life as either very healthy or fairly healthy (89%).

One in five respondents showed signs of a possible mental health problem, with females (23%) more likely to show signs of a possible mental health problem than males (17%).

When asked about the amount of stress experienced over the previous 12 months, 40% of respondents indicated that they had experienced a great deal or quite a lot of worry or stress (12% had experienced a great deal and 27% had experienced quite a lot).

Children

Parents were asked about the health of their children. For the majority (94%) of children, parents reported that their health generally is good or very good.

Only a third of respondents reported consuming five or more portions of fruit or vegetables a day with females more likely to be meeting this guideline than males (36% and 27% respectively).

When asked if they had changed their eating habits in the past three years in order to lose weight, 39% of respondents indicated that they had. Females (43%) were more likely to have changed their eating habits in order to lose weight than males (34%).

On smoking, 24% of respondents indicated that they currently smoke, 25% of males and 23% of females.

But, around eight in 10 current smokers have tried to quit smoking at some stage and around two-thirds of current smokers indicated that they were planning to quit smoking.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents, aged 18 and over, indicated that they drink alcohol, 81% of males and 74% of females.

Twenty percent reported drinking in excess of the sensible drinking limits (outlined by the Department of Health as 21 units per week for males and 14 units per week for females). Around a quarter of males (27%) drank above sensible limits compared with 16% of females.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents were classified as meeting the recommended level of physical activity (at the time of this survey, the Chief Medical Officer guidelines were 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least five days a week). Males were more likely than females to be meeting the recommended level (44% and 35% respectively).

(BMcC/GK)