Hansard

No matter what age each of us is, I am sure that, if we individually thought back to our own childhood, we would agree that our lives are significantly different from those of our mothers and fathers. In the majority of cases, the energy that our parents expended going about their daily lives was significantly greater than that which we expend. Most men in my father’s age group worked in manual jobs and travelled by public transport, and they often had a walk at either end of their journey. Mothers carried home shopping every day because freezers were not commonly available. If they had employment outside the house, they often came home knowing that they still had several hours of cooking and cleaning ahead of them without many of the labour-saving devices that we take for granted. The children with whom I grew up walked to school every day, and we played with our friends outside the home every moment that we could in sun, rain or snow. We seemed to walk for miles. Indeed, studies show that, per person per year, people walked 63 miles less in 2003 than they did in 1975. Our working, home and school lives involved much more built-in activity.

My point is that our lives and lifestyles have changed so significantly over such a relatively short period of time that we have hardly noticed, and our physical activity levels have dropped to a point that is seriously bad for us. The fact that the problem is relatively recent might account for so little having been written about it and there having been so little interest in the area until recently.

We know that inactivity contributes to heart disease, strokes, diabetes and some cancers as well as to mental health problems. Therefore, it is important that we all consider our lifestyles and increase the amount of energy that we expend. For that reason, we have every sympathy with Alison Johnstone’s amendment, and we will vote for it at 5 o’clock.

Some studies have suggested that the walkability of local neighbourhoods is directly related to physical activity levels and that the promotion of physical activity should be a key element of urban planning in the future. Being active often also encourages us to be more interactive with our families, neighbours and friends. It can be particularly important for older people, who can all too easily become isolated. I think that that is the point of the Greens’ amendment, and I look forward to hearing what Alison Johnstone has to say about it. We would all do well to remember what I have said when we talk about planning in the various committees and levels of the Parliament.

The health benefits of activity are undisputed and the relationship between poor health and inactivity is clear, but we are debating the link between obesity and inactivity. We must bear in mind that there is conflicting evidence on that. There are studies, including one that was carried out in Plymouth over a period of 11 years, that seem to show that it was not so much a lack of exercise that caused children to gain weight, but that they became less active because they had become heavier. My colleague Dr Richard Simpson will address that issue more fully in his contribution. However, whether obesity and activity are linked as closely as the motion suggests, it is absolutely clear that being overweight or obese is very bad for a person and that being active is good.

I have drawn members’ attention before to a statistic that worries me, and I make no apology for doing so again. It is a fact that, until the age of 12, boys and girls are as active as each other, but at the age of 12 or thereabouts, girls stop being active and almost immediately drop to a level that their male counterparts do not reach until they are 40. Therefore, we need to continue to encourage young women and girls to find new ways to increase their participation, whether in dance, Zumba, cheerleading or organised sport. I welcome the minister’s comments in that regard.

Most of those young women will go on to become mothers, and statistics show that children are more likely to be overweight and inactive if their mothers are overweight and inactive. It is frightening that many parents do not recognise obesity in their own children. Understandably, they do not want to admit that there is an issue and a problem in that regard. We need to ensure that support and help are given to those families. We need to break that cycle and if we can use the Commonwealth games and indeed the Olympic games to spur people on to become involved in sport, in dance or in just walking more often we should do so.

We must instil better eating habits in our young people. After all, our nation seems to have not only a unique and dangerous relationship with alcohol but a particular obsession with fast food. I am genuinely depressed at the number of young people to be found queueing outside fast-food outlets at lunch time, particularly as many of them are school or college students. We all enjoy the occasional curry or fish supper but, when it is a person’s daily lunch time meal, it is not good for their health and cannot be good for concentration levels after lunch and, in turn, overall attainment levels.

As a result, we must actively combat the twin evils of bad diet and low activity levels.