Leading the way on physical activity

NHS Health Scotland welcomes the Active Scotland Delivery Plan, out today from the Scottish Government. Physical activity and active play are crucial to our health and well-being. They impact from an early age, including on the development of children’s fundamental movement skills that are the building blocks for physical activity throughout life. Being physically active improves mental health and quality of life and it can help prevent and treat a whole range of health conditions. These include high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers.

Ali McDonald, Organisational Lead for Physical Activity, NHS Health Scotland said:

“The World Health Organisation published its global plan on physical activity in June, and within weeks, Scotland has published ours. The timeliness and content in today’s plan show that the significant contribution of physical activity to the health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland is recognised.

“In advocating a human rights based approach, and making reference to commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the importance of action in the early years and to improving health and reducing health inequality is well acknowledged. Our work on the right to health tells us that such an approach can add a huge amount of value to our efforts on public health and so we particularly welcome this focus. We also welcome acknowledgement that planning and transport policy have a crucial part to play. Such a collaborative approach to physical activity is necessary to create the healthy, active society we all want.

“As one of the public health priorities in Scotland, we look forward to working with others to ensure that the full potential of physical activity in creating a fairer healthier Scotland is realised. This plan will help us all do this.”

 

For more information visit our webpages on physical activity. 

For more information on the right to health, visit our right to health webpages.

For more information on the importance of action in the early years, visit our early years web pages.

You can download the Active Scotland Delivery Plan from the Scottish Government's website [external website].