Lib Dems to hold summit on sport solution to obesity

Published on Friday 25 December 2009 20:09

THE Liberal Democrats have pledged to hold a summit during 2010 to tackle Scotland's obesity problem through sport.

The politicians will gather representatives from Scotland's sporting organisations and local authorities, as well as young people to explore ways to increase sporting participation across the country.

Recent official figures show lack of interest as the prime cause of poor participation rates among 16- to 24-year-olds in Scotland.

The same research suggested children who played sport while young were twice as likely to carry on doing so as an adult.

The party's sports spokesman, Ross Finnie, said: "These figures make it clear that sporty children are twice as likely to grow into sporty adults. Keeping active is a major part of staying healthy and tackling the obesity epidemic.

"Lack of interest is the most common reason for young people not participating in sport and this needs to be sorted out.

"A summit with councils, young people and sports organisations would be one way of finding out how to get more young people interested in sport."