.gif)
Monday 14 Apr 2008 @ 14:32
Scottish Government
Scottish Government
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
Funding to tackle childhood obesity
Funding of £6 million to tackle childhood obesity was announced today.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon made the commitment at an international summit on health inequalities being hosted in Edinburgh.
The funding will help at least 20,000 overweight and obese children and forms a key part of the Scottish Government's agenda for tackling health inequalities.
Health boards will be tasked with setting up family-focused healthy weight treatment programmes for children aged between 5 and 15.
Designed to engage children in practical and educational sessions, the programmes will promote healthy eating and physical activity and address the psychological, social and behavioural causes of weight gain.
Ms Sturgeon said: "While the growing problem of obesity - and in particular childhood obesity - is affecting all sectors of society more and more, we know that the health impacts can be a particular problem in deprived areas.
"Chronic health conditions associated with obesity such as coronary heart disease are more prevalent in deprived communities. Yet it is those who are living in less affluent areas who are more likely to find it difficult to access affordable healthy foods and have opportunities to be active.
"This funding I am announcing today will directly benefit overweight children and is an extremely important addition to the actions we are already taking to tackle health inequalities, such as free school meals, raising the age of cigarette sales to 18 and expanding the Keep Well programme.
"It is just one of the examples I will be demonstrating today of the work we are doing here in Scotland to tackle inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of Scots."
The conference, being held today and tomorrow at the Balmoral Hotel, has attracted politicians and health professionals from across the UK, Europe and North America, including Canada, the United States, Estonia and Finland.
It is an opportunity to discuss innovative ways of tackling health inequalities so that different nations can learn from each other.
First Minister Alex Salmond will give the closing address at the conference tomorrow.
Speaking about the conference, Ms Sturgeon said: "The Scottish Government faces the considerable twin challenges of improving our country's health and tackling some stark health inequalities.
"Improving the health and wellbeing of populations and tackling the social determinants of health inequalities is a common challenge across Europe and North America and we need to keep our minds open to the best possible solutions.
"We want to learn from experiences and best practice elsewhere, and showcase the actions we have taken to tackle these challenges.
"That is why I am delighted today to welcome to Scotland senior representatives from other governments across the UK, Europe and North America to share ideas about how we can improve health and tackle inequalities."
Related Information
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon made the commitment at an international summit on health inequalities being hosted in Edinburgh.
The funding will help at least 20,000 overweight and obese children and forms a key part of the Scottish Government's agenda for tackling health inequalities.
Health boards will be tasked with setting up family-focused healthy weight treatment programmes for children aged between 5 and 15.
Designed to engage children in practical and educational sessions, the programmes will promote healthy eating and physical activity and address the psychological, social and behavioural causes of weight gain.
Ms Sturgeon said: "While the growing problem of obesity - and in particular childhood obesity - is affecting all sectors of society more and more, we know that the health impacts can be a particular problem in deprived areas.
"Chronic health conditions associated with obesity such as coronary heart disease are more prevalent in deprived communities. Yet it is those who are living in less affluent areas who are more likely to find it difficult to access affordable healthy foods and have opportunities to be active.
"This funding I am announcing today will directly benefit overweight children and is an extremely important addition to the actions we are already taking to tackle health inequalities, such as free school meals, raising the age of cigarette sales to 18 and expanding the Keep Well programme.
"It is just one of the examples I will be demonstrating today of the work we are doing here in Scotland to tackle inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of Scots."
The conference, being held today and tomorrow at the Balmoral Hotel, has attracted politicians and health professionals from across the UK, Europe and North America, including Canada, the United States, Estonia and Finland.
It is an opportunity to discuss innovative ways of tackling health inequalities so that different nations can learn from each other.
First Minister Alex Salmond will give the closing address at the conference tomorrow.
Speaking about the conference, Ms Sturgeon said: "The Scottish Government faces the considerable twin challenges of improving our country's health and tackling some stark health inequalities.
"Improving the health and wellbeing of populations and tackling the social determinants of health inequalities is a common challenge across Europe and North America and we need to keep our minds open to the best possible solutions.
"We want to learn from experiences and best practice elsewhere, and showcase the actions we have taken to tackle these challenges.
"That is why I am delighted today to welcome to Scotland senior representatives from other governments across the UK, Europe and North America to share ideas about how we can improve health and tackle inequalities."
Related Information
