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JIM SPENCE: Our health stats are appalling – this country of couch potatoes needs a national fitness crusade

Fitness fads come and go but illnesses caused by obesity and lack of exercise keep rising: maybe Scotland needs the nanny state to step in.

overweight man eating a burger on a sofa
What will it take to get the couch potatoes of Scotland to care of their fitness? Image: Shutterstock.

Is your old granny’s advice to ‘Away and take a shake to yourself’ set for a comeback with a new programme to get the nation fitter?

Would you welcome a new national crusade to get us all healthier and happier in 2023?

Scottish health statistics make for appalling reading.

And yet many of our issues could be tackled inexpensively through leg power and willpower with something as simple as a regular walking routine.

the writer Jim Spence next to a quote: "While it might sound a bit like the nanny state, we really do need to address our grim health issues."

Professor Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, rose to prominence during the Covid crisis.

She has since qualified as a personal trainer and she may now be about to set a valuable and potentially life enhancing example to the nation.

“This new year we should all resolve simply to move and exercise more,” she has said.

“And I’m planning to start a weekend park training session that people can attend for free”.

Professor Devi Sridhar
Professor Devi Sridhar is turning her attention to fitness levels in Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon running in a gym hall.
Prof Sridhar has suggested Nicola Sturgeon could join her fitness crusade. Image: Chris Sumner.

She’s hoping that prominent figures such as Nicola Sturgeon and Lorraine Kelly might attend the events to inspire the nation.

Scotland for fitness – and a healthier population

There’s an old but fascinating public education film, called Scotland for Fitness, which was made to promote health and fitness to Scotland and the Empire.

It was produced for screening at the 1938 Empire Exhibition, under the supervision of legendary film maker John Grierson.

The film includes shots of various sports and activities like football, stretching, dancing, swimming, hiking, climbing, walking, camping, weight lifting and gym exercises.

And once you’ve stopped laughing at the Mr Cholmondley-Warner type presenter, who is a ringer for the upper class chap in Harry Enfield’s TV series, there’s a serious message within.

vintage photo of young women hanging from monkey bars.
Keeping fit the old fashioned way. Image: Shutterstock.

Every day we hear of a crisis in health, both physical and mental.

Those two elements are often deeply connected.

But with the NHS currently under serious strain, it makes sense for everyone to take as much care of their own personal fitness and wellbeing as possible.

Fitness shouldn’t be a fad

Fitness and health is often regarded as a boom and bust industry.

We’ve had the aerobics and marathon eras when the streets, village halls and community centres bounced with activity.

people doing aerobics in Dundee Douglas sports centre in the 1990s.
Dundee Douglas Sports Centre at the height of the aerobics boom, in 1992.

And every time, once the latest craze has withered, only the hardy annuals remain.

But it shouldn’t be that way.

Some folk are natural movers and shakers but health and fitness doesn’t need running shoes or Lycra.

Many of the post-war generation were keen cyclists.

My late dad had a tandem and was a member of the Charles Star cycling club, one of many in Dundee, after he left the RAF.

I can still hear him convey his hair-raising tales of racing descents and lung-bursting ascents of Tullybaccart to this day.

vintage photo of men in cloth caps lined up on bicycles.
Cycling was a popular form of transport and exercise for previous generations. Image: Shutterstock.

At my pal’s New Year karaoke party her 83-year-old mum was giving it laldy with her lively line dancing routine.

For seven years, my wife has walked the five miles twice a week to her voluntary stint at a foodbank

As a keen fan of Shanks’ pony, only monsoon weather will interrupt her sacrosanct routine.

Is Scotland ready for a fitness crusade?

That ancient film in the Scotland for Fitness programme calls for a national crusade for fitness.

And while it might sound a bit like the nanny state, we really do need to address our grim health issues.

Life expectancy for men in some areas of Dundee and Glasgow is dire.

And while there are complex reasons behind it, exercise and fitness activities could go a very long way to improving the outlook for many folk.

Getting fit and keeping fit requires commitment.

But it’s an investment which is enormously beneficial both personally and for the country at large.

A national crusade for a nation of couch potatoes would exercise our minds and our bodies.

And given the state of our health as a nation we’ve got nothing to lose by following the Prof’s advice.

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