Great turnout at Sugar and Fat Information evening
There
was barely a seat to be had at the Whelehans Pharmacy “Sugar and Fat”
information evening held at the Greville Arms Mullingar last Monday 7th March.
An audience of over 200 people attended
what was a truly enlightening event. The huge turnout further underlines
people’s desire to be informed and get the right information from those that
know.
Prior
to the main event presentations, people arriving were able to explore a variety
of information and support stands from the Irish Dental Hygienists Association,
Diabetes Ireland and an excellent Food Table presentation prepared by Owen
Pettigrew of St Marys NS Mullingar and presented by his friend Niall Doonan
also from St Mary’s NS. In addition, in
line with the event theme, free Glucose and Blood Pressure checks were on offer.
These proved extremely popular, with over 100 people taking advantage of this
throughout the course of the evening. Whelehans Pharmacy would like to extend a
huge vote of thanks to the Order of Malta staff who administered the checks.
Their work is all voluntary, so, much appreciated.
“One
Easter Egg can have 73 Teaspoons of Sugar!”
Pauline
Dunne, Senior Dietitian and Regional Development Officer, Diabetes Ireland, was
the first speaker of the evening. The particular focus of her presentation was
the Diabetes Ireland “Sugar Smart” campaign running currently on their website.
Starting
with a broad outline of “the balanced diet”, illustrated via the six main food
groups on the classic Food Pyramid, Pauline moved to Sugar awareness. From
this, she was then able to quantify the “recommended daily amount” of sugar a
person should consume……which is 200 calories or 12.5 tsp (50g). Defining the
standard measure of 1 teaspoon = 4g of sugar, Pauline then went on show the
audience some extreme sugar content examples taken from the Sugar Smart campaign.
There
were audible gasps of amazement (horror?) when Pauline showed a selection of sugar
content infograms ranging from a typical “cinema combo” (46 tsp of sugar!) to
the humble festive mince pie (6 tsp!).
Given
the time of year, Pauline also showed a startling table outlining the sugar
content contained in a variety of Easter Eggs (topping out at a massive 73 tsp…in
one egg offering!!)
Pauline
then gave a range of helpful food management tips and strategies before
concluding with a summary around balanced diet, getting smarter about food
labels and portion sizes and the importance of daily regular exercise.
The
“Silent Killers”
Next up was Eamonn
Brady MPSI, Pharmacist and owner at Whelehans. Dovetailing perfectly with the
previous talk, Eamonn gave an insightful symptoms overview of the conditions
most related to obesity, namely cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure
along with outlines of medications associated with managing these conditions. Eamonn
described the three conditions of high cholesterol, high blood glucose
(Diabetes) and high blood pressure as the “silent killers” as for most people
they are symptomless but greatly increase your risk of premature death from
heath disease. Given that a high number
of the audience had their glucose and BP checked, the information presented hit
the right note with a “cautionary” style.
Eamonn also stressed
the importance of regular checks for all the “numbers” associated….so,
Cholesterol …. Less than 5.2mmol/litre, Diabetes / Glucose….less than 7mmol/L, and BP less than 140/90 mmHg being the ideal target
levels….
In
line with the Diabetes Ireland message, Eamonn further highlighted the
preventative benefits of a balanced diet and regular exercise regime.
Obesity
is a ticking time bomb
Following
a short break, the main speaker of the evening was Dr Donal O’Shea, Consultant
Endocrinologist at St Comcille’s and St Vincent’s hospitals and leading Obesity
expert, specialising in obesity in children.
In
what was to be a highly informative presentation, Dr O’Shea began his talk by
illustrating the changing nature of health in Ireland over the last 30 years.
Whereas in the past, someone who was 17- 20 stone would be uncommon, today this
weight level has become prevalent. Dr O’Shea outlined the various societal
factors that contribute to this, commenting that whilst life expectancy is now
longer than it has ever been, what this actually means is that more people are
living longer with chronic medical conditions and the associated burden on the
already stretched resources available.
Dr
O’Shea then moved on to his specialist area, Obesity in Children. The audience
were left under no illusions as to the dangers and epidemic proportions of the
Child Obesity problem in Ireland. He showed examples to illustrate the
insidious corporate and profit based nature of product placement and
advertising by food and drink manufacturers that subliminally targets children.
One particular example, that of a simple bag of tortilla chips, promoted as a
“game” that then developed into over consumption through “playing” especially
in early teens….resulting in huge sales for the manufacturer. Again, his
message was unambiguous……. in Ireland, this needs to change, now, today, at a
fundamental education level.
The
“Imperative for Change” was then explored further with information of gene
related evidence of the vastly increased levels of diabetes and cancer projected
for the population over the next 30 years.
Many
examples of the changing attitudes to food consumption in other countries were
given. A light hearted, but none the less serious look at the” Food Pyramid”
concept around the world only added to concerns of the stasis that exists in
Ireland regarding the challenge facing the healthcare profession in the future.
Would
we allow 7 year old children smoke?
The most startling
image of the evening was that of a 7 yr old girl smoking……. Dr O’Shea shared
his view, that the revulsion that people feel seeing that picture should be the
way they feel about seeing children consume sugary foods and drinks …. It is
really that harmful. Dr O’Shea predicted that “in 15
years' time sugar sweetened drinks will be considered effectively poison, if
not banned, to those under 18. It will be like a kid smoking, that is how it
will look and it just won't be acceptable."
To conclude, Dr O’Shea
gave his views on the right type of exercise…..that of more endurance and stamina
based activities, rather than pushing weights….
In
summary, he said that childhood obesity is the biggest societal and public
health challenge we face and again that all sugary drinks should be replaced
with water and to advocate the views of previous speakers, plenty of the right
exercise and proper sleep.The event closed with a very interactive Q&A
session.
Whelehans
Pharmacy would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who took the
time to come along and support the event. Thanks also to those who provided
stands and information, and lastly, to our speakers. Keep an eye on press for
our many upcoming events over the next few months.
For
comprehensive and free health advice and information call in to Whelehans, log
on to www.whelehans.ie or dial 04493 34591.
