Report to the People
Child Health
In the West of Scotland we like to make a joke of our poor health.
We seem to take some sort of pride in stories of deep-fried Mars Bars and goals in junior football matches being disallowed because the keeper hadn't finished his cigarette.
But what underlies this culture is no laughing matter.
Put simply, in Inverclyde in particular, we are victims of "health inequalities." This might sound like a sterile civil service term (and that's because it is) but it describes a situation which means the wealthy are healthy and the poor are not.
A glance at some of the issues involved shows what a complex problem this is.
Improving health means, for example, fighting poverty; tackling alcohol and drug abuse; getting people out of cold, damp houses; and ending the lottery of postcode prescribing.
But regardless of the work which is being done to treat the condition, prevention is always better than cure.
And where better to start this prevention work than with our children?
On Thursday afternoon, the Scottish Parliament debated the issue of child health and how we give children the best possible healthy start in life.
The Scottish Parliament has made child health a priority in the Health Plan. Efforts are being made to encourage children away from fat, salt and sugar and towards fruit and vegetables.
Children are also a priority in the Dental Action Plan. Free toothbrushes and toothpaste are available to children under the age of 1, with targeted distribution to children aged 1-3 years of age in deprived areas. The target is to ensure that 60% of 5 year olds have no experience of tooth decay by 2010.
Work is being done to reduce the number of low birth weight babies - babies who are at a significantly greater risk of death or ill health in early life and disadvantaged throughout their life. In Greenock & Inverclyde the number of low birth weight babies has now been brought down to 6.7% below the national average.
Giving our children a healthy start in life will improve the quality and length of their lives.
And you never know, some of it may rub off on us. Mark Twain said that "few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." But if our healthy kids make us take a second look at ourselves and our habits, it would be a price worth paying.
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