Childhood obesity projects to share £600,000 funding

Projects tackling childhood obesity in Scotland by promoting healthy eating will receive a share of more than £600,000 in funding.

Ten initiatives around the country are being allocated money from the Scottish Government to encourage good nutrition.

These include the Bump and Beyond Buddies peer support scheme in Tayside, which aims to extend its infant feeding programme.

A pilot scheme in the Lothians will involve 120 family workers being trained in supporting families in deprived areas with nutrition.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “We want children and families to have access to appropriate support to achieve as healthy a weight as possible, no matter where they live, and we will continue to support local partners to develop ambitious and effective plans to prevent and reduce childhood obesity.

“We all have a responsibility to work together to help people in Scotland to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and these projects will help address inequalities in obesity between children in our wealthiest and poorest areas.

“As we set out in our 2018 diet and healthy weight delivery plan, our ambition is to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce diet-related health inequalities.”

Tracy McGillivray, of NHS Lothian’s health promotion service, said: “The project will work in areas where families are at increased risk of diet-related health inequalities.

“We will be able to provide training to community-based family support staff to have increased knowledge, skills and confidence around the promotion of eating well and ensuring consistent messaging in the importance of establishing good nutrition in the early years.”