Next week, Monday October 6th, we will see the launch of a report based on the data from the “Growing Up in Ireland” study. The “Growing Up in Ireland: National Longitudinal Study of Children in the Republic of Ireland”, to give it its full name, has already yielded results. Most notably the levels of overweight and obesity among children in Ireland, which has led to a healthy eating campaign aimed at parents.  An earlier report released by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs which sampled over 8,500 children under nine years old indicated that 19% were overweight and 7% were obese.

In one week’s time the Institute of Public Health will be presenting the first comprehensive look at long-standing health conditions among young children in Ireland. The Institute of Public Health has applied the methodology utilised to produce population prevalence estimates and forecast for chronic conditions among adults. More details available at the Chronic Conditions Hub. The aim of the event will be to:

• Jointly launch the report in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs
• Present a summary of key findings and explore their implications for policy development and service delivery
• Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin
• Time: 1:45pm – 4:15pm on 6 October 2014

To register to attend please contact Suzanne Kirk at suzanne.kirk@publichealth.ie or Leah Friend at leah.friend@publichealth.ie as soon as possible.

The full programme is listed below:

Programme
Chair: Owen Metcalfe, Chief Executive, IPH

1.45pm	Registration and tea / coffee
2:00pm	Welcome Owen Metcalfe, Chief Executive, IPH
	Launch of report Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Health James Reilly TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
2:30pm	IPH’s work on the prevalence of chronic conditions Kevin Balanda, Director of Research, IPH
	Study findings Steve Barron, Research Analyst, IPH
3:00pm	What does it mean for policy? Kate O’Flaherty, DH
	What does it mean for service delivery? Alf Nicholson, National Lead for Paediatrics, HSE
3:45pm	Panel Discussion
4.15pm	Close Owen Metcalfe, Chief Executive, IPH