Let's Make Scotland More Active!

I thought i would post the Scottish Physical Activity strategy to demonstrate that a good strategy requires effective implementation. The document Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland
identified that Scotland was the third most obese country in the world after the USA and Mexico. This may actually be progress as until the report we were usually named as the second! Let's Make Scotland More Active is actually a very good strategy document. It was published in 2003 but progress has been slow with little improvement in PA rates since then. PA is measured in Scotland by the Scottish Health Survey which is now published annually. Since 2003 there has been much discussion about how to go about increasing PA participation, unfortunately politicians and the media seem to be unable to grasp the difference between sport, physical activity and physical education. Policies such as children having two hours of quality physical education per week have sometimes changed to two hours of PA which could include walking to school! The policies themselves remain useful, what is required is the political will to implement them and obviously more PA research!







The Scottish Government (2003). Let's Make Scotland More Active, Edinburgh, Scottish Government (February, 2003 )

Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland - A Route Map Towards Healthy Weight

The Scottish Government has published a paper called Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland - A Route Map Towards Healthy Weight ', Published 22nd Feb 2010. Give it a read! We don't do much well. But we certainly known how to do obesity! Some frankly scary and astonishing cost projections.


Scottish Government (2010). Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland - A Route Map Towards Healthy Weight Government Publication

Scottish Health Survey 2008, PA results

The Scottish Health Survey results are out for 2008. Despite the positive spin on the document it would appear that PA has not increased from 2003 tom 2008. So the document then compares rates to 1998 instead of 2003. 'The proportions of men and women aged 16 to 74 meeting the physical activity recommendations (30 minutes of at least moderate exercise on most days of the week) increased significantly from 40% in 1998 to 46% in 2008 in men, and from 29% in 1998 to 35% in 2008 in women.' Interesting, but irrelevant!

I'm sure I had previously worked out that if they wished to achieve the Scottish Government's target of 50% of adults meeting the recommended PA levels (5 days 30 mins) by 2022 they would need an increase of 0.9% per year. Initially it should also be easier to achieve as the people you add are people thinking of taking part in more PA. As you exhaust this group it will get incrementally more difficult to achieve the target.

Unfortunately to fail to achieve the 0.9% at this early stage suggests that the target wont be reached. I’m going to a seminar in two weeks to discuss the results so I shall the question. What now?