I have just returned from a run in the Phoenix Park. It is great to see so many other people out walking and jogging too. The recession has breathed new life into the art of keeping fit. There is a running boom on all over the country. Maybe people just got sick and tired of all the doom and gloom.

However, despite the fact that more and more people are getting out and keeping fit, unless we tackle childhood obesity, we have been warned that half our adult population will be obese within 20 years. It was revealed during the summer that 100,000 of our children are obese, while 300,000 are overweight, making our children among the fattest in Europe. Another astonishing figure revealed by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute to an Oireachtas hearing before the summer recess, was that 31.8% of Irish seven year olds are considered obese or overweight. Unbelievable.

Quite how parents allow this to happen is for another day. But it’s a form of child abuse to feed children to the point that they are dangerously overweight while not seeing the benefits of exercise.

And this is in a country which is considered to be sports mad. Maybe we are, but, instead of partaking, we are just cheering on from the comfort of the high stool and the sofa.

There are two simple steps to avoiding obesity. One is eating properly, and the other is exercise. It’s not rocket science, yet here we are sitting on an obesity time bomb which will cost our health system billions if not fought off immediately.

It really is ridiculous that we have reached a point whereby parents need to be taught how to feed their children properly. You would think that common sense would come into it, but then you will still see toddlers being pushed around in buggies eating crisps and guzzling fizzy drinks. If we have to go down the road of educating parents on this issue, then so be it. We should also put more emphasis on activity in school.

Just 30 minutes or 45 minutes of PE out of 30 hours school each week is not enough. The department of education should at least double the time allocated to PE among primary school pupils.

Due to litigation worries, children are discouraged from running in the playground, a big change from my day. And, of course, add in the fact that fewer and fewer children walk, run or cycle to school, and you can see why the obesity figures are what they are, with 29% of boys and 38% of girls from poorer backgrounds considered obese.

If children are not encouraged to get active at a young age, then its highly unlikely that they will get any more active as they get older. If their parents can’t see trouble ahead, then it is up to the state through our schools to fight off this “pandemic”, as doctors at that Oireachtas hearing described it.

PE should be a Leaving Cert subject and the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise should be taught and promoted in schools.

Sometimes when we do a sports-related item on the radio, a few cranks ring in to give out, telling us to leave the sport to the sports programmes. Every year after the Dublin marathon, a few cranks write letters to newspapers complaining about being discommoded.

Thankfully, those with a dislike of sport and what it has to offer in terms of health and fitness in general, are few and far between. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about thousands of parents who are watching their lovely little children grow into unhealthy obese teenagers.