Our life expectancy is low compared to other EU countries. Women can expect about four years more than men. Some clues as to why this is so can be found in work carried out by the Centre for Health Promotion Studies at NUI-Galway. The centre has been watching the lifestyle of the nation for some time and its results are the basis for the Health Promotion Strategy. What its findings make clear is that we are a long way from being a healthy nation.
Young people exercise less and less when they get into their teens.
Only 42 per cent of adults exercise regularly. Let me amend that. Forty two per cent of adults claim they exercise regularly. God only knows how bad the situation would be if they told the truth. Sitting in darkened pubs downing pints and watching football on the telly, one suspects.