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Sport and fitness for today’s youth
April 2009 £2.75
Campaign for subsidised gym for kids By Mary Ferguson A SCOTTISH gym owner is campaigning for subsidised gym memberships for children – blasting government for not doing enough to tackle rising levels of obesity. Greg Dalgleish, owner of Hawickbased Think Fitness, has written to the Scottish Executive to push for increased funding for initiatives that get young people active, claiming similar programmes in England are leaving Scotland behind. He said: “As far as I can tell, the Scottish Executive’s focus seems to be on nutrition, diets and school food, rather than a balanced diet and activity strategy. This is probably why every third child in Scotland is overweight and why our overweight children grow into obese adults who will bankrupt our health service.” At Think Fitness, Greg operates a separate studio with hydraulic equipment suitable for young people and offers a reduced school membership of £15 a month. But, he said, there are still those that can’t afford it. “The Executive give vouchers out for computer courses so why not for gyms? There seems to be so much available
for kids in England at grass roots level and Scotland can learn from that. The NHS in Scotland has worked with local authority run leisure centres for years but some private clubs are better equipped with better staff, so better positioned to make a difference. The NHS and the Executive must realise that clubs like us are part of the solution – not spectators in this war on obesity.” Scotland has the second highest level of obesity in the developed world and according to Greg, a lack of Executive intervention will only make the problem worse. He added: “I look at my English colleagues getting excited about their Government’s ‘Change 4 Life’ campaign and I cannot believe that we’re not doing something similar in Scotland. How much worse does it have to get before we do?” A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “This Government has taken decisive action to tackle obesity and increase the levels of physical activity across the Scottish population. We are providing local government with record levels of funding and many councils run innovative schemes to encourage children to get involved in physical activity.” Full story, page 10
Sharron to throw book at fitness FORMER Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has revealed she is so worried about kids’ fitness she is getting involved with a book designed to help families be healthy.
Britain’s Got Talent finalists Strike have launched a new project aimed at getting kids active. Danny Ball, 23 and Liam Richards, 20 hit the scene last year after appearing on the ITV show, showcasing their acrobatic martial arts routines. The pair have teamed up with Leisure Connection and Harpers Fitness to deliver classes for five to 16 year olds. Full story, Page 11
Sharron told Future Fitness as children will eat what they are given and copy what they see adults doing, it is important to set a good example when it comes to nutrition and fitness. She said: “Kids mimic what they see adults doing. “If they see you working out or eating healthily, they will copy you. We need to set the right examples. “I am looking into a book on kids’ fitness and and how as a family we can be healthy. I am really concerned about it.”