Inside Track Focus


A study carried out in June claimed that a


complete ban on junk food advertising could reduce childhood obesity levels in Scotland by around 14 per cent. Children from six countries, including


Scotland, were analysed by a team of scientists from Australia, Sweden and the UK, with the conclusion that food advertising has a significant impact on the eating habits of six to 11-year-olds. Although junk food adverts during


children’s programmes were banned in 2007, health campaigners say kids are still influenced by seeing commercials during adult shows before the 9pm watershed and have called for a total ban. Health experts have said that while there is


a desperate need to tackle poor diets, just as crucial to improving wellbeing is the need to encourage people to take regular exercise. One of the biggest hurdles in increasing


participation in sport, however, is a lack of facilities. Audit Scotland said cuts in public spending


will make it difficult for councils to invest in sports facilities and to sustain the services they provide over the longer term. Te head of the Government’s sports


promotions agency said earlier this year that Scotland was stuck in the “dark ages” with poor facilities that limit the sporting success of athletes. Stewart Harris, chief executive of


Sportscotland, said he has been frustrated by the lack of progress in building infrastructure for the 21st century. Te McLeish Review is heavily critical of


facilities, but the former first minister believes there are solutions. He suggests that if school


28 Holyrood January 2011


facilities could be opened up it would greatly increase resources to allow youngsters to participate. He said: “A major issue is the question


of facilities. Tere are lots of PFI and PPP projects that I think are really inaccessible because of the contracts. “In Scotland we have about 2500 schools,


and many of them have sporting facilities, whether it is a swimming pool, outdoor pitch or basketball court. But, the vast majority of these facilities close at 3pm, they don’t open at weekends and don’t open over the holidays. So for more than half the year these facilities, created at public expense, lie unused.


“The challenges are major and there isn’t a quick fix”


“Obviously we should be opening them


up. It is public money and public funds being spent on them and I think that the wider public should be given the chance to benefit from them where possible. Tere are solutions. Tis is an obvious one, yet why is it not being done? Some of the facilities we have [are] available to us.” Prof Hanlon said attitudes to improving public health have improved over the years, but added the results have not come quickly enough and it is time for a new approach. He said: “One of the problems we have


is we very quickly rush to the Government with a ‘spend more/do more’ attitude and I’m not convinced that is the answer. “I have been working in public health


in Scotland for more than 20 years. If we went back to the Tatcher era and someone described what was happening in 2010, I would have thought I’d died and gone to heaven. “We have made enormous progress in our


understanding of health and in our initiatives so I think it is only fair that some praise is given. “But, clearly, what we are doing is not


working. It’s not that we have been lacking in energy, concern or research – we have been working hard on that. But yet, in terms of comparative performance we have been falling behind so we need to be looking in a different way.” McLeish is quick to highlight the size of


effort needed, but insists improvements can be made. He said: “It’s a challenge for the nation –


there is an achievement gap and a credibility gap and there is some huge changes that need to take place. “We do have potential – the DNA running


through Scottish kids is the same as it was 30 or 40 years ago, when we were able to compete and the health of the nation was not as bad. “We seem to have forgotten that society


is changing and there is a lot of pressure on kids, there are a lot of alternatives, and we must try a lot harder to get up to speed with the changes. “Te challenges are major and there isn’t


a quick fix – but there is plenty of room for optimism and an effort that matches the size of the challenge must be made, not only for the interests of our footballers and our athletes, but for the country.”


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