- Conservative MSP and former Olympian Brian Whittle says innovative breakfast clubs can improve health and academic performance
- Paper written by Whittle for the think tank Enlighten – suggests a series of prevention-led interventions to change Scotland’s relationship with poor diet and physical activity
- Whittle argues public policy aim in Scotland must be to reduce demand on struggling NHS
Enlighten, the independent public policy institute which works to promote increased economic prosperity, opportunity for all, and more effective public services, today publishes a new report written by Brian Whittle, the former Olympic athlete and now MSP.
The paper, A New Prescription: Putting prevention at the heart of public health, maps out a series of interventions which Whittle believes will move Scotland towards better mental and physical health, learning in part from the experience of the Covid-19 lockdown.
In his paper, Whittle suggests a number of activities and nutrition-based interventions including:
- Carrying out a national audit of community sports facilities
- Setting a minimum number of specialist primary school PE teachers per head
- Embedding physical literacy into the education system and into the curriculum
- Considering whether to restrict the right of secondary pupils to leave the school premises at lunchtime
The full paper can be read here.
On school breakfast clubs Brian Whittle said:
“The expansion of provision of free breakfasts in school for primary-age pupils presents a major opportunity to grow their horizons by making that free breakfast available alongside an offering of activities for young people. This could include sports, art, drama, coding or anything else that could spark an interest, giving pupils an outlet and encouraging them to be active and socialise.
“This model has the additional benefit of removing any stigma around pupils accessing free meals as the breakfast club becomes about the activity first and the food second. A balanced breakfast has also been shown to improve focus and boost academic performance within the classroom. Additionally, there are wider physiological benefits through moderated metabolism and regulation of appetite for school-aged children, both of which impact mood and behaviour”.
On his paper in general Brian Whittle said:
“It’s easy to measure the cost of spending on prevention but it’s often difficult to quantify how much isn’t spent elsewhere as a consequence.
“What I am proposing are the first steps on a long road to changing Scotland’s relationship with poor diet and physical activity. The price of travel will be significant but those costs pale into insignificance when compared to the costs already being faced by our NHS, social security system and other public services, all of which bear the burden of our poor public health.
“Rather than trying to endlessly increase the supply of NHS care, the solution must come from reducing the demand for the NHS.”
Enlighten’s Director Chris Deerin said:
“Scotland’s health record is notoriously poor, with data regularly placing us at or near the bottom of the charts across the west. For many years, politicians have talked about the need for a focus on prevention of ill-health, allowing people to live healthier lives for longer and reducing the strain on the NHS. Despite the talk, we haven’t made anything like the progress required.
“The ideas contained in this paper suggest innovative ways in which Scotland’s health record might be improved, with positive consequences for us all.”