West Scotland MSP Neil Bibby is backing Cancer Research UK’s Scale Down Cancer campaign to help prevent obesity-related cancers across Scotland.
Scotland has one of the heaviest populations in Europe, with around two-thirds (65%) of adults in Scotland and more than one quarter (28%) of children, overweight or obese. Cancer Research UK have found that the percentage of adults who are overweight or obese in Greater Glasgow and Clyde is 60.7%, contributing to ever increasing pressures on local NHS services.
And according to calculations by Cancer Research UK, almost 83,000 children have started primary school overweight or obese in Scotland over the last decade. In Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the percentage of children aged 4-5 who are overweight or obese is just over 20%.
Given that obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking, it is important that action is taken to tackle Scotland’s obesity challenges.
The Cancer Research UK campaign asks politicians to support a call to ensure cancer is scaled down to size in Scotland.
Foods on promotion account for around 40 per cent of all expenditure on food and drinks consumed at home.
Which is why restricting supermarket multi-buy discounts on foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt are among a range of measures that Cancer Research UK wants to see placed at the heart of the expected Scottish Government strategy to improve Scots’ diets.
Neil Bibby MSP said: “Four in ten cancers are preventable, yet not enough of us know that obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. Given the devastating impact that cancer has on families in West Scotland, it’s vital we take action on obesity.
“We mustn’t let obesity continue to be the new normal in Scotland, and that’s why I’m joining forces with Cancer Research UK and the Scale Down Cancer campaign.”
Find out more about the campaign at cruk.org/ScaleDownCancer