Cash boost will help tackle child obesity

Apr 17 2008 By Shirley Bartynek

MORE than £200,000 is to be spent on tackling childhood obesity in Lanarkshire.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon this week announced £6m of funding to combat the problem across Scotland.

The Minister revealed that Lanarkshire Health Board is to benefit from £217,000 this year to introduce new family-focused treatment programmes for overweight and obese children aged between five and 15 years.

Designed to engage Lanarkshire children in practical and educational sessions, the programmes will promote healthy eating and physical activity.

The initiative will also address the psychological, social and behavioural causes of weight gain.

The Health Secretary made the commitment for the extra cash at an international summit on health inequalities being hosted in Edinburgh.

The funding will help at least 20,000 overweight and obese children in Scotland and forms a key part of the Scottish Government’s agenda for tackling health inequalities.

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 in Lanarkshire.

“The extra cash 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.”

The conference, at the Balmoral Hotel, has attracted politicians and health pro fessionals 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.