Flour Of Scotland
And dough, wheat, sugar, salt...
Scotland is the second fattest country in the world with levels of obesity double those of Germany and three times that of Norway. Only the USA has higher obesity levels according to a new report published by the Scottish Executive's own statistics division.
Almost half a million cases of high blood pressure, 24,000 heart attacks, 550 strokes and 900 cases of cancer a year are directly attributable to the weight problem and as today's kids grow up the obesity problem is getting worse.
Dr Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: 'Obesity potentially could take several decades off the life span of children and bring the first cut in life expectancy for 200 years.'
Around 20% of Scottish 11-12-year-olds are considered obese.
Perhaps surprisingly the most obese were those living in rural areas such as Dumfries & Galloway and Scottish islands with the slimmest kids found in Greater Glasgow. Ian Grant, a co-author of the report, warned into reading too much into the regional variations, warning that more research was needed before the geographical differences could be confirmed.
The publication of the Obesity in Scotland report coincided with the launch of plans to remove sweets and fizzy drinks from schools - the latest move in a ten-year action plan to combat obesity. Embarrassingly for the SNP administration, a photo of a rather portly looking Nationalist leader Alex Salmond appeared alongside the report in one newspaper.
Mr Salmond's administration is implementing broadly the same measures as in the rest of Britain by encouraging more physical activity in schools and having children assessed and treated earlier for obesity.
