Scots told to work on their weight

Published on Saturday 21 June 2008 19:49

BUSINESSES will be encouraged to monitor the weight of their employees as part of a £56m Government plan to tackle Scotland's obesity epidemic.

Workers will type in their weight every morning – using Government-provided software – allowing occupational health staff to spot significant weight gain and offer early help, under the scheme unveiled by ministers. The Government also plans to appoint a full-time official charged with liaising with Scottish food firms and encouraging them to make products healthier.

Ministers also want to change the way cooking is taught in the nation's catering colleges by getting young chefs to rely less on salt, sugar, butter and cream, and more on healthy alternatives.

But the plans have attracted criticism from opposition MSPs, who said promotion of exercise in primary schools was being neglected. One business leader said the scheme seemed "heavy handed".

Obesity is estimated to cost the NHS in Scotland 170m a year and Scotland is the second-fattest nation in the developed world behind the United States, according to figures published last year. A quarter of Scots adults were classified as obese in 2003.

The Government's new anti-obesity strategy is being launched today by the public health minister Shona Robison.

Additional measures include spending 19m of the total programme on vouchers for fruit and vegetables for women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and children under five in disadvantaged areas, and a review of commercial sponsorship rules to crack down on advertising and promotion of junk food.

Ministers will order a retraining programme for midwives and health visitors to ensure that they can give the most up-to-date advice to pregnant women and mothers. In addition, the SNP will launch a "cooking bus", which will tour Scotland giving advice on healthy eating.

Robison said: "Obesity is one of the problems that, like climate change, does not have a simple solution and requires a new way of thinking. If we successfully tackle obesity then we will reduce ill-health, and a healthier Scotland is vital for sustaining and growing our economy."

Dr Rachael Wood, an expert in child health at Edinburgh University, said: "I'd be very supportive of efforts to train midwives and health visitors to give advice to pregnant women. It's interesting how they are wanting to talk to food producers about making their products healthier. Until now, we have tended to focus on the demand side."

Iain McMillan, the director of CBI Scotland, said: "I think we will want to look at the detail and we are in favour of promoting health. But it seems that some people are drinking far too much and some are eating far too much and it's everyone else's fault but their own. We need to have far greater regard for the fact that people are responsible for their own welfare. And this seems to be a very heavy-handed approach."

Margaret Curran, the Scottish Labour health spokeswoman, said: "Today's announcement seems half-hearted.

"It's very surprising and disappointing that it does not include key SNP manifesto commitments on guaranteed outside activity for children in disadvantaged communities, and of course two hours' physical education for all schoolchildren."