Question reference: S5W-35613
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 1 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact of COVID-19 on people diagnosed with obesity, what consideration it has given to publishing an updated obesity strategy.
Answer
We are aware of evidence highlighting the impact obesity can have on the severity of COVID-19. We are learning more about the virus and its relationship to obesity and health inequalities all the time. This is why addressing overweight and obesity remains a public health priority. Our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan outlines our vision of a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.
The Delivery Plan acknowledges that deprivation is a contributory factor to levels of obesity and overweight in the Scottish population, and sets out actions to be taken forward to address this. The pandemic has underlined the importance of this approach.
We consider that the actions contained in the Delivery Plan to improve the food environment are still the right approach but their timing will require careful consideration in light of the pandemic’s impact on society. The administration in place after the Scottish Parliamentary election may therefore wish to give this matter careful consideration.