HEALTHY WEIGHT
In common with other countries in the developed world Scotland faces a significant challenge from rising levels of obesity.
Healthy Weight, Active Living: An action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity (2008-2011)
Over the next 3 years the Scottish Government will be investing £56 million, of which £40m is a new allocation from the recent Scottish budget, in initiatives dedicated to improving diet, increasing physical activity and tackling obesity. We have published an action plan on 23 June 2008 providing further details of these initiatives here. This action plan will build on, not replace, the continued delivery of our two existing strategies: the Scottish Diet Action Plan and Physical Activity Strategy.
Targets
The Scottish Government has set a new national target to reduce the rate of increase in the proportion of children outwith the healthy weight range by 2018. This will be underpinned by a new NHS 'HEAT' target for the provision of unhealthy weight treatment programmes which address the full range of complex diet, inactivity, social and psychological factors contributing to overweight and obesity in children. The Scottish Government was pleased to announce on 14 April 2008 the provision of additional funding to health boards to support the delivery of this new target. It is hoped that 20,000 overweight and obese children and young people between the ages of 5 and 15 will benefit from these programmes over the next three years to 2011.
Guidance to assist in the delivery of these intervention programmes has been developed by NHS Health Scotland supported by an expert reference group. This guidance can be downloaded as a pdfhere. This guidance document is not available in hard copy.
These intervention programmes will form just one element of our strategic approach to tackling obesity. Government and stakeholders across all sectors have a key role to play in preventing obesity by helping to create environments that make it easier for us all to be more active in our everyday lives and support us in making healthier choices in what we eat.