FIGURES SHOW NEED FOR STEP CHANGE IN HEALTH FUNDING
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and food spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, is highlighting worrying figures in the Scottish Health Survey released today (24 Sep).
The proportion of women describing their health as good or very good has fallen by four per cent in three years.
Only one in seven children eats the recommended 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with boys' consumption falling to just 2.4 portions a day.
Rates of physical activity remain stagnant, while children's participation in sport and exercise has fallen to pre-1998 levels.
Alison Johnstone, deputy convener of Holyrood's cross-party group on sport, said:
"With two thirds of Scots overweight or obese and one-in-six children at risk of obesity it's not good enough for ministers to trot out a long list of minor initiatives. This issue is costing us £3billion a year so we need to see a step change in funding, and direct support for communities to tackle poor health.
"I see little sign of the Scottish Government getting tough with the junk food producers and big retailers worsening our obesity problem, while local authorities are under increasing pressure to give up green spaces for development. We can no longer get by with tweaks to our approach to public health; this is one of the biggest challenges our society faces and we need to raise our game."