To ask the Minister of Health for his assessment of the long-term public health costs associated with poor nutrition in young people due to over-consumption of fast food.

A 2024 report from the World Health Organization, based on data from 44 European countries, revealed a concerning picture of dietary habits, with a particular focus on the decline in healthy eating behaviours and the rise of unhealthy choices. Fewer than 2 in 5 young people (38%) eat fruit or vegetables daily, and these figures decline with age (from 45% of 11-year-olds to 33% of 15-year-olds for fruit, and from 40% to 36% for vegetables). More than half of young people reported eating neither fruit nor vegetables every day (56% of boys and 51% of girls aged 15).

The report also reveals a concerning link between socioeconomic status and unhealthy dietary habits, with adolescents from lower-income families more likely to consume sugary drinks (18% versus 15%) and less likely to eat fruits (32% versus 46%) and vegetables (32% versus 54%) daily.

For Northern Ireland, the NISRA Young Persons’ Behaviours and Attitude Survey 2022-23 found that over three fifths of young people (63%) thought they should be eating 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables each day to be healthy. However, only 16% recorded that they usually eat 5 or more portions of fruit or vegetables each day.

The Public Health Agency is currently working on a whole systems approach to obesity prevention in Northern Ireland as obesity is a complex chronic condition which is cause by multiple factors such as, the environments we live and work in along with psychosocial and genetic variants. There is an acknowledgement that inequalities and poor nutrition in young people contribute to overall inequalities in health and vice versa.

The annual cost of obesity to society in Northern Ireland is estimated at £500m annually.