Obesity and Overweight in Ireland

A multidisciplinary approach to a multifaceted public health problem.

Patricia Kearney, Janas Harrington, Sheena McHugh, Jamie Madden, Xia Lee, Darren Dahly, Christina Dillon, Eimear Keane

Source: Growing up in Ireland, 9 Year Old Males, 2007-2008

Source: Growing up in Ireland, 9 Year Old Females, 2007-2008

Source: WHO, 2008 - SLAN 2007, Obese Adults

Source: WHO, 2008 - SLAN 2007, Obese and Overweight Adults

Source:Egger G, Swinburn B. An ecological approach to the obesity pandemic. BMJ. 1997; 315: 477-480.

Source: Gillman MW. A lifecourse approach to obesity. From A lifecourse

approach to chronic disease epidemiology.

Source: Tackling Obesities: Future Choices. Foresight, 2010.

Lifestyle Transitions and Trajectories: Enhancing capacity in Irish cohort and

cross-sectional studies

Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement (ICE) Award

Building capacity in population health and health services research

Funded by the Health Research Board

Aims

• To describe how behavioural risk factors for obesity, CVD, and diabetes unfold over the life course in Ireland.

• To relate these life course patterns to health outcomes and health care utilization.

• To maximize the use of data from 9 Irish observational studies that collectively span the life course.

Team Investigators

Dr Xia Lee - Biostatistics

Dr Darren Dahly – Nutritional Epidemiology

Dr Sheena McHugh – Health Services Research

http://www.ucc.ie/en/epid/people/

Data Sources

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (age 50+ years, 2010)

Cork and Kerry Diabetes and Heart Disease Study (50-69, 1998-2008)

Mitchelstown Cohort (50-59, 2010)

National Survey of Lifestyles, Attitudes and Nutrition (18+, 2007)

SCOPE (Mothers, 2008-2012)

Growing up in Ireland (9m and 9y, 2007-2009)

Cork Children’s Lifestyle Study (9y, 2012-2013)

BASELINE (Birth to 2y, 2009-2012)

Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (2 to 6m, 2012)

Four Areas of Expertise

Primary Investigators of the Studies

Methodologists – Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Services

Clinicians

Policy and Practice

Primary Investigators

Dr. Tony Fitzgerald, UCC Biostatistics

Prof. Joe Eustace, CRF/UCC Clinical Epidemiology

Dr. Patricia Kearney, UCC Epidemiology

Prof. Louise Kenny, UCC Obstetrics

Prof. John Browne, UCC Health Services Research

Prof. Ciaran O'Neill, NUIG Health Economics

External Collaborators

Prof. Zhenming Chen University of Oxford

Prof. Sharon Friel Australian National University

Dr. Graham Law University of Leeds

Dr. Kathleen Bennett Trinity College Dublin

Dr. Ellen Nolte RAND

Prof. Richard Layte ESRI

Prof. Amy Herring University of North Carolina

WORK PACKAGE 1

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

To investigate the past and present determinants of health service utilisation across the life course

WORK PACKAGE 2

BIOSTATISTICS

Develop statistical methods for analyzing accelerometer data, and relate these to subsequent health outcomes.

WORK PACKAGE 3

NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Relate dietary and physical activity data to NCD risk across Irish observational studies.

http://xkcd.com/882/

ddahly@ucc.ie