Dig for victory in war on flab

Published on Saturday 28 March 2009 20:00

FORGET the treadmill and the rowing machine. Scots are being offered the chance to fight the flab in outdoor "green gyms" in the latest attempt to tackle obesity.

More than 50 projects are being set up across the country over the next three years, offering volunteers the chance to exercise in the open air by taking part in organised gardening, tree planting and vegetable growing.

The so-called green gyms offer organised gardening with warm-ups, instruction on how to use tools safely, and cool-downs.

The 300,000 scheme is being run by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) using Scottish funding.

Yesterday, the development manager for BTCV Scotland, David Graham, said outdoors work often burns up more calories than a gym session.

He added: "BTCV Green Gyms offer people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to improve their fitness through involvement in practical environmental activities such as tree and hedge planting, creating and maintaining community gardens or improving footpaths."

He added: "Green Gyms can also help improve cardiovascular fitness and the activities often burn off more calories than a normal aerobics session as well as providing the added benefits of fresh air, improved environmental quality and the opportunity for volunteers to make new friends. Why not join in for an hour or more on a weekly basis, for a healthy heart?"

The BTCV already runs a number of projects across the country, but this is the first time the Scottish Government has invested in the scheme.

By 2012 a total of 56 Green Gyms are planned across Scotland.

The move comes in response to Britain's gardening boom, with outdoor activities surging in popularity despite a lack of community resources.

Scotland on Sunday last year revealed that more than 3,000 Scots are facing waits of up to 10 years to be issued with a plot of land by their local authority.

A nationwide shortage of allotments means that waiting lists can stretch to nine years in Glasgow, eight in Edinburgh and three in both Stirling and Fife. Gardeners requesting a plot in Aberdeen and Dundee can expect to wait two years before they are successful.

Public Health and Sport Minister Shona Robison said: "It only takes 30 minutes a day of physical activity, at least five days a week, to gain enormous health benefits and help prevent many serious diseases like heart disease, cancer and stroke.

"This weekend the clocks go forward and with the days getting brighter it's a great time to make the most of the outdoors," she added.

"Green Gyms are free for everyone to use and, for people who won't set foot in a regular gym, they offer a way to improve your fitness while meeting new people, learning something new and benefiting your local area."

All Green Gym sessions involve trained leaders putting volunteers through their paces somewhere in the outdoors. Sessions start with warm-up exercises, and are then followed by demonstrations on how to use the tools provided and a briefing on the task ahead. The sessions end with cool-down exercises and a tidy-up.

Volunteers are shown how to get to grips with digging holes, stone-walling and planting to improve their local environment. They can also be given hints and tips on how to grow food in their own gardens.

The project is based on research which shows that working out in the fresh air reduces stress levels and risk of heart disease and stroke. The activities also improve muscular strength and are thought to help older people in particular to lead more independent lives.

Half of men and two-thirds of women in Scotland are not physically active enough. The Scottish Government has set a target that by 2022, 50% of adults and 80% of children should meet the current recommended levels of physical activity of at least 30 minutes of activity, five days per week, and children should do at least one hour of activity every day.

But Scottish Labour health spokesman Richard Simpson was sceptical about the idea. He said: "I don't think that spending 300,000 on getting people to dig in gardens would be a priority for me. There are many other ways of tackling fitness and obesity. A lot of voluntary organisations are having significant funding cuts, while encouraging councils to increase the number of allotments would be a good thing."