WE CAN HELP THE ‘CHIPS AND CURRY SAUCE’ GENERATION

NOTHING makes me prouder than the fact I was able to represent my country as an Olympic sprinter. Nothing makes me angrier than to think that young people with much more talent than I ever had are being denied the chance to realise it because of a lack of opportunity to be physically active and to eat a healthier diet.

Scotland is sleepwalking into an avoidable health crisis which, if we’re not careful, threatens to overwhelm our NHS.

We now know that a quarter of children who start primary school in Scotland are at risk of being obese or overweight. We know that, behind smoking, obesity is the biggest cause of cancer in later life. If we don’t sort this, the NHS will simply collapse under the weight of our poor health.

Forget party political allegiances – there is a desperate need, now, for politicians of all parties to think of ways to tackle Scotland’s sick man image once and for all.

Far too much of what we’re hearing from government right now is about banning multi-buy products. That’s all very well – but banning products is looking at this the wrong way. We need to start at source. This is an issue with many moving parts that need to be tackled collectively. However, today I’m putting the focus on schools. How can we help teachers and schools do more to ensure that children are learning the right habits in the first place?

For a start, we should be cracking down on some of the odd customs we have in Scotland. Everyone will be familiar with the sight of kids queueing up outside the burger van at lunchtime outside secondary schools. It’s crazy. Pupils are getting lessons on how to improve their health – only to then be told to head down the street to get their chips and curry sauce. Food outlets near schools should be better controlled through the planning system.

Schools should have facilities in place so pupils can be fed in school. And school meals themselves need improving. Did you know that the food your children are eating at school may include low-quality chicken from Thailand and imported flash-dried mashed potatoes? And, perhaps, most importantly of all, we need kids to appreciate high-quality food more. Yet the number of home economics teachers in Scotland has fallen markedly over the past decade.

I met Gary MacLean, the Glasgow chef who won Masterchef, and he made the point well. ‘We need to get our kids educated in food,’ he said. ‘It’s as important as maths and physics. If you’re rubbish at physics, it doesn’t mean you die at 50 because you don’t know how to cook.’

We have thousands of children growing up in homes these days where cooking is simply no longer practised. I know we ask schools to do a lot but this is another way we can turn our obesity crisis around.

Physical activity is the other key factor. Ideas such as the Daily Mile have offered a simple way forward which every child can participate in. I’m also in favour of opening schools during the holidays, and before and after the school day, so more community groups and sports clubs can use their facilities. Exercise and activity need to become part and parcel of our school day, not things so-called ‘sporty’ kids do.

The benefits of this shift in culture will be enormous. I am tired of hearing that Scotland is the ‘sick man of Europe’. We have some of the best produce in the world. We have a rich and proud sporting culture. We have educators and health workers who are dedicated to improving lives for our young people. With political will, we can get Scotland off the sofa and back on track.

Brian Whittle MSP is Scottish Conservative public health spokesman and a former Olympic athlete.