Objective: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children using four different weight-for-height methods and to examine secular trends from previous national data. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Weight and height were measured according to standard procedures and used to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity using four weight-for-height methods of assessment, actual relative weight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index (BMI) for age charts for boys and girls, the BMI reference curves for the UK 1990 and the International Obesity Task Force age-and sex-specific BMI cutoffs. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children is high, but varies considerably with each method. The prevalence of obesity in boys ranged from 4.1 to 11.2 % and in girls from 9.3 to 16.3%. Between 1990 and 2005, depending on the method used, there was a two-to-fourfold increase in obesity in children aged 8-12 years. Conclusion: It is evident given the variation displayed in the prevalence of obesity when using the different methods, that there is a discernible need for a single definition to identify the obese child in Ireland. The findings show a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish school children and the increase in the prevalence of obesity over the last 15 years highlights this growing public health issue.

Objectives: To examine the influence of eating location on the quality of the diets of Irish children and to compare intakes at home with intakes at other people's homes and intakes outside the home, and to compare intakes at various locations outside the home. Design: Food intake was measured using a 7-day weighed diary in 594 children from the Republic of Ireland (aged 5-12 years). Details of where the food was prepared or obtained were also recorded. Results: Eighty-nine per cent of all eating occasions occurred at home; , 6% occurred at both other people's homes and outside the home (takeaway, restaurant, shop, other). The percentage of food energy from fat was above the recommended 35% at other people's homes and outside the home, specifically at takeaways and restaurants. Fibre and micronutrient intakes (per 10 MJ) were significantly higher at home than at the other locations (P , 0.05). Within the 'out' locations, fibre and micronutrient intakes were generally higher at restaurants and lower at shops. High consumers of foods outside the home had a statistically significant, but relatively small decline in nutrient intakes compared with non-or low consumers. Chips and processed potatoes, meat products, savouries, sugars and confectionery, and savoury snacks made the greatest contribution to foods consumed outside the home. Conclusions: The main focus of nutrition policies to improve the diets of Irish children should be the home environment rather than the food service sector. However, guidelines could call for better food choices outside the home to improve nutrient intakes.

Obesity is a serious and complex public health issue that can have a significant detrimental effect on health (1). In adults the BMI cutoffs of ‡ 25 kg/m 2 and 30 kg/m 2 are widely accepted definitions of overweight and obesity respectively. However, in adolescents there is no standard method; thus highlighting the difficulty posed when making comparisons. BMI has been recommended for use in children and adolescents; however, as BMI varies with age and gender during adolescence, it is essential that age-and gender-specific BMI cutoffs be used in defining overweight and obesity (1-4). Data for the present investigation are from the National Teens' Food Survey (NTFS), for which weight and height were measured in 223 males and 217 females aged 13-17 years who were randomly selected throughout the Republic of Ireland (5). BMI was determined by weight (kg) divided by height 2 (m 2). As there are currently no BMI v. age reference curves for an Irish reference population, the UK 1990 BMI-forage growth charts (4) were used to identify the overweight and obese adolescent (6) .

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland recently published food-based dietary guidelines for 1-5-year-old children, highlighting that this age group were at risk of inadequate intakes of iron, vitamin D, EPA and DHA (1) . This formed the basis for new Department of Health, healthy eating guidelines for kids (2) .The aim of this study was to investigate awareness of the new guidelines (1)(2) among parents of children aged 1-3 years, and compliance to certain recommendations contributing to intakes of the at-risk nutrients iron, vitamin D, DHA and EPA. A 15-item questionnaire was sent to a sample of parents with a child aged 1-3 years in Ireland, recruited by the independent website Everymum.ie. The data was analysed using SPSS 27. Analysis included descriptive statistics to calculate mean (standard deviation) and percentages. The recommendations focused on in this study included: eating a fortified breakfast cereal, red meat 3 times per week, fish once a week, administering a low-dose vitamin D-only supplement every day from Halloween to St Patrick's Day and for those growing at <25th percentile (ages 1-3), the recommendation for a low dose iron-only supplement 4 days per week or use of an iron-fortified full-fat milk or formula (1) .Of the 1,226 participants, 85% were between 25-44 years and 79% had achieved tertiary education. The mean toddler age was 1.8 years (standard deviation 0.58). Only 39% of parents were aware of the new healthy eating guidelines for young children (1) . Half of participants (50%) reported not giving their toddler a fortified cereal. A large proportion of toddlers (74%) did not meet the red meat recommendation, and within those 15% (n = 134) did not consume red meat at all. 35% did not meet the recommendation for fish. Of the parents, 48% reported giving their toddler a vitamin D-only supplement, and within those 71% (n = 418) reported giving it daily. For those with a toddler reported to be growing at <25th percentile (n = 46), none were given an iron-only supplement and only 13% reported giving their toddler an iron-fortified young child formula. However, most participants (91%) felt their toddler had a healthy diet.This study highlights a lack of awareness and compliance, among parents of pre-school children, of the new food-based dietary guidelines for young children in Ireland. The purpose of these healthy eating guidelines is not only to reduce the risk of inadequate intakes of important nutrients like iron, vitamin D, EPA and DHA in this age group, but also develop healthy eating habits for life (2) . There is an opportunity to promote the guidelines to build awareness with both parents and healthcare professionals.

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