Minister for Health commends Irish families following welcome news for Irish kids

Leo Varadkar has spoken out in support of Irish families following the news that Irish children have become healthier in recent years.

According to new research released by Safefoods, improvements can be seen in the nutrition and exercise habits of our nation's children.

Statistics show that Irish children's water consumption has increased by 7% at mealtimes while the consumption of carbonated drinks has simultaneously fallen by 5%.

In addition to this, the survey, which was conducted by Millward Brown, shows that there has been a drop in the number of parents who serve treats to their child on a daily basis.

Commenting on the findings, Leo Varadkar said: "It looks like families are increasingly conscious of how even small changes to children’s diet and physical activity can make a big difference. I want to commend everyone who has made those small but significant change to their diets and lifestyles."

Despite the positive findings, it seems Irish families are not quite there yet when it comes to their children's exercise and nutrition plan with figures showing that 62% of children still don't consume water at meal-times while almost a quarter of Irish parents still offer their child treats on a daily basis.

The survey, which is part of a three-year campaign to tackle childhood obesity, was conducted with almost 1000 parents all of whom have children under the age of 12.