Around 60% of Irish men and 40% of women are overweight, according to new research.

Tipperary is the county with the highest number of overweight people, with 58% of respondents registering a body mass index (BMI)of more than 25, followed by Limerick with 55% and Wexford with 54%. County Kerry reported the lowest figure, with 41% of people being classed overweight and in Dublin the figure is 46%, some 800,000 people.

"These figures are extremely worrying," said Dublin GP Stephen Murphy. "Heart disease is the number one killer in Ireland, with approximately 10,000 people dying each year from cardiovascular disease, accounting for 36% of all deaths".

More than 5,000 people took part in the survey by health insurance company Hibernian Aviva Health. Medical professionals consider people with a BMI ranging from 25 to 30 as overweight and from 30 and 35 as obese. In 1948, the average Irish person weighed 24kg (3st8lb) less than today.

"Irish people just don't see themselves as being fat," said Dr Mel Bates, spokesperson for the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP). "It is especially true of parents towards their kids, stuffing them with food as a kind of misplaced kindness."

Bates makes the point that in the past, it was wealthy people who were bigger, while poorer people were thin.

"That trend has gone straight into reverse," he said. "Now those who are more educated and wealthy are taking their health seriously, while those on social welfare have a less healthy diet. The poorer in society seem to be misguided as to how they spend their money."

During the war years, he said, people had little but they were fit. "There was no refined sugar, people ate wholegrain out of necessity…they walked or cycled everywhere because there was a shortage of petrol."

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has highlighted high alcohol consumption and smoking rates in its own reports as also having a detrimental effect on Irish health. The HSE's weight management services data also shows that 22% of children between the ages of five and 12 are overweight.

"Each pint of beer consumed by an adult is about the equivalent of a Mars bar," explains Dr Bates. "Kids who are sculling back fizzy drinks are also consuming an incredible amount of calories."