Sir, – Last year, research published in the Lancet and reported in The Irish Times, confirmed that Ireland had the lowest breastfeeding rates of 27 high-income countries. The study also highlighted the positive impact of breastfeeding on intelligence, life-expectancy, and according to your own report, how it offered a "protection against obesity".
In your report on childhood obesity (News, October 11th), also based on a Lancet study, we find that Irish children have worrying obesity levels, with almost a third being overweight.
While I commend Safefood, Diabetes Ireland, and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Policy Group on Obesity, who have called “for an obesity treatment programme which would encompass elements including surgeries, weight-loss medication, dietary support and therapies”, I believe that the cause and indeed the solution are even closer to home. – Yours, etc,
JEAN WEBSTER,
Dublin 11.