The Health Minister Leo Varadkar says he hopes to have a policy in place this year on how to tackle the growing obesity epidemic.

Experts have gathered at Farmleigh in Dublin today to discuss the matter and how to address it.

Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight last year.

While 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013.

Ireland is at the higher end of the abesity scale, with 25.9% of people here classed as obese.

Mr Varadkar says there is no single action to stop obesity, but it has to be addressed urgently.