A Healthier Future: analysis of consultation responses

10. Physical activity (Q10)

10.1 The consultation paper described the wide range of activities and initiatives currently funded by the Scottish Government to support improvements in physical activity among the people of Scotland. These include commitments to: (i) have Scotland become the first ‘Daily Mile’ nation – an intervention targeted at children, young people and staff in nurseries, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces; (ii) put active travel at the heart of transport planning; and (iii) to appoint an Active Nation Commissioner. The consultation paper also discussed proposals to: (iv) link increased investments in active travel with efforts to support weight management; (v) make improvements to the planning system to ensure that it supports active travel and healthy choices; and (vi) consider ways of creating ‘active places’ to make it easier for people to be more active.

10.2 Respondents were asked for their views on how the Scottish Government’s work to encourage physical activity can contribute most effectively to tackling obesity.

Question 10: How can our work to encourage physical activity contribute most effectively to tackling obesity?

10.3 A total of 281 respondents (124 organisations and 157 individuals) provided comments at Question 10. Responses to this question came mainly from individuals and from public health and the third sector organisations. Few respondents from the food and drink industry or business organisations replied to Question 10. Those who did highlighted their work in communities and among disadvantaged groups to encourage and promote physical activity and sponsor local sports teams.

10.4 Among those who addressed this question, there was general support for proposals to develop and / or expand opportunities for active travel, and to build on the success of the Daily Mile initiative in schools. Respondents made a wide range of specific suggestions about how to create an environment – and communities – that would encourage and normalise physical activity.

10.5 A few respondents made more general comments. These focused mainly on policy and strategy development in this area. Views were also expressed about the appropriateness – or not – of linking physical activity to efforts to tackle obesity. These general comments are discussed first below, followed by respondents’ specific suggestions, and observations about equalities issues.

General points regarding policy / strategy development

10.6 There was widespread acceptance among respondents that efforts to encourage physical activity should be part of any strategy to tackle obesity. However, respondents emphasised that the challenges of getting people to become more active should not be underestimated, and they pointed out that all the available evidence indicates that simply signposting people to exercise classes and other physical activity opportunities will not be enough to motivate people to become more active. Evidence was cited to suggest that focussing on outcomes other than physical health (e.g. fun, friendship, family time) will result in better engagement in physical activity.

10.7 At the same time, respondents also thought there was a need to develop motivational tools and techniques for engaging people who are uninterested in sport and exercise and for overcoming the multiple barriers that people who are obese, in particular, may face (including weight-related stigma, insecurity, and anxiety). (See Annex 6 for detailed suggestions about motivational tools and techniques.)

10.8 While most respondents accepted the premise in the consultation paper that encouraging physical activity was important in any attempt to tackle obesity, there were also some who questioned this. Specifically, it was noted that increasing physical activity on its own is not enough to result in weight loss. Rather, any national strategy to improve rates of physical activity will only reduce levels of obesity if it is coupled with: (i) action to tackle the obesogenic food environment, and (ii) clear advice / guidance in relation to a healthy diet.

10.9 While all respondents agreed that increasing levels of physical activity has a wide range of benefits for health and well-being, this latter sub-group of respondents thought that attempts to increase physical activity should not be a ‘distraction’ from the need to reduce calorie intake. There was also a view (expressed less often) that strategic efforts to improve levels of physical activity should be entirely separate from a strategy to tackle obesity, simply because the benefits of physical activity extend far beyond weight loss – and because weight loss cannot be achieved through physical activity alone.

10.10 However, the opposite view was also expressed: that the consultation paper did not give enough prominence to encouraging physical activity – that this part of the consultation paper seemed like an ‘add-on’, which did not reflect the Scottish Government’s commitment to encouraging physical activity.

10.11 Respondents making such comments highlighted the importance of developing policies in this area that were coherent and consistent (i.e. across all government departments).

Specific suggestions

10.12 There was general agreement among respondents that policy in this area should aim to ‘normalise’ physical activity: ‘Being physically active should be the norm and not seen as something that people have to add to an already busy life’. Thus, there was widespread support for active travel initiatives – and cycling and walking, in particular. Respondents also discussed workplace initiatives; advocated improved access to community, sport and leisure facilities; and suggested a range of steps which could be taken to encourage physical activity among children and young people specifically, and among families more generally. Annex 6 provides details of specific suggestions in relation to each of these points.

Equalities issues

10.13 Respondents often cited evidence of the social patterning of diet and physical activity. These respondents thought policy in this area should aim to tackle social disadvantage and interventions should be tailored to ensure they are effective across the social gradient. Respondents identified specific groups likely to require such tailored interventions, including (i) people who are struggling with weight, low motivation and chronic health conditions (who will need more intensive psychological support to help them become more active); (ii) adolescent girls (who are far less likely than their male peers to be physically active); and (iii) people with musculoskeletal conditions.

10.14 Respondents made suggestions about how to improve engagement in physical activity among people in Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities (including protecting sports fields and playgrounds from development, and reducing financial barriers to accessing community leisure facilities. Respondents emphasised that access to opportunities to become more physically active should be available to all, and not dependent on income or where people live.