£200k for fridges to cut obesity

THE Scottish Government will spend more than £200,000 a year on providing shops with refrigerators and shelves to display healthy food, it was announced today.

It follows the unveiling of a new obesity strategy to curtail the growing number of overweight Scots.

In 2008, just over a quarter of adults and 15 per cent of children in Scotland were obese.

If current trends continue, 40 per cent of Scots will be classed as obese 20 years from now, with an estimated 3 billion cost to the nation, according to the government.

Public health minister Shona Robison said the government would invest 679,000 over three years, matched by a 650,000 investment from retailers, to extend the Scottish Grocers' Federation Healthy Living programme.

The programme aims to sign up more stores, expand the range of healthy foods available in shops and pilot a scheme to make healthier "meal deals" available in stores close to schools.

It will also create a "gold standard" for stores who want to go the extra mile in promoting healthier foods.

Robison said: "Extending this programme will make a huge difference to the availability of affordable, healthy food in shops."

Scottish Grocers' Federation chief executive John Drummond said the programme was "a model of a successful partnership".

Meanwhile, a government spokesman said the healthy living programme currently has 625 members. He added that retailers reported 56 per cent of their consumers are buying more fruit and vegetables than they did three years ago.