Scots-born? Study says it is bad for your health

Scots born in Scotland are less healthy than those originally from elsewhere in the UK and Europe.

Adults born outside Scotland are more likely to report good or very good standards of health, a Scottish Government study found.

Questions of why indigenous Scots have poorer health outcomes than Scots born outwith the country – particularly those born in Europe– are complex, but there is on one level a simple factorial explanation, diet.

In a post-industrial society, there is a significant part of Scottish society that has maintained eating practices from the industrial age – high in saturated fat and calories.

The ability of people on low incomes and those living in deprived areas to access a quality diet is not contested. Government statistics recognise food prices have increased at a greater rate than inflation and in real terms they have increased significantly.

The lowest income groups spend a greater part of their income on food and are most affected by rises in price. The rising cost of food combined with decreases in household income has made food

poverty a reality for many low income households in Scotland.

In terms of Scots born outwith Scotland, it is clear they frequently come from heritages where for cultural reasons the preparation and type of food consumed does not contain the same levels of saturated fat and dependency upon sugars.

Indeed, these diets are not expensive in relative terms.

Whilst recognising the reality of food poverty, social norms have exacerbate the ill-health for indigenous Scots and they are more likely to experience the adverse health outcomes that come with a poor diet.

This is a complex issue but one which can be addressed by education, fundamentally addressing the cheapness of alcohol and food poverty.

The government in Scotland can tax unhealthy food and can also subsidy healthy food.

Regarding poor health in the 16-24 age group, a main influencer is social media and the pervasiveness of interactive modern technology. Forexample, the phones young people have are not dumb phones but smart phones with access to games, hardware capabilities, extensive mobile operating systems, which facilitate wider software, internet, and multimedia functionality.

Indeed, given the proliferation of this technology it would not be an unreasonable position to expect the number of the 16-24 age group in Scotland having “Good” or “Very good” health to continue to decline. As they age it would be reasonable to assume the health at the 25-34 age range will also suffera greater decline. There is increasing evidence the internet and social media influences public health, for example suicide-related behaviour. It increasingly appears aspects of social media and technology and its influence pose a significant risk to public health. l Dr Bryan Mcintosh is Associate Professor at the University of Stirling, Faculty of Health Services and Sport.