URGENT action is needed to improve the health of people in Scotland after an official report found 30% of children were not at a healthy weight, Cancer Research UK has said.
The Scottish Health Survey “paints a bleak picture”, the charity claimed, with almost two-thirds of adults overweight and the lowest score for mental wellbeing recorded since the study began.
Scots who consider their general health to be good or very good also reached the lowest level since the survey began in 2008. Commissioned by the Scottish Government, the annual survey found 16% of children were at risk of obesity. This increased significantly with age, from 11% of those aged two to six to 21% of those aged 12 to 15.
Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK’s cancer prevention expert, based at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking so this report, which holds a mirror up to the health of the nation, paints a bleak picture. It’s clear that urgent action is needed to help guide Scots onto the path of better health.”
The survey found just 15% of children ate the recommended five portions of fruit or vegetables a day.
Bauld added: “To break the grip of this obesity epidemic, laws are needed to restrict multi-buy offers on unhealthy food and drink. Given Scotland’s obesity problem, politicians now have a duty to make sure this happens before the next Scottish Parliament elections.”
The survey, which polled 4810 adults and 1983 children across Scotland, did find non-diet soft drink consumption has “fallen considerably” for both groups. In 2018, 10% of adults drank sugary drinks every day, down from 20% in 2016, while 16% of children between two and 15 consumed non-diet soft drinks daily, down from 35% two years ago.
Meanwhile, new figures show that key waiting times targets for treating cancer patients have been missed again, new figures have revealed. NHS statistics for the three months to the end of June showed that of those patients referred on with an urgent suspicion of cancer, 82.4% were treated within 62 days. The target is 95% In Scotland.”
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