Diet and nutrition: key points

• Good nutrition is essential to both current health and wellbeing, and health and wellbeing in later life. Eating a healthy diet can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and tooth decay.
• A review of progress towards dietary targets, originally set in the Scottish Diet Action Plan (SDAP) 'Eating for health' (1996) for achievement in 2005, found that none of them had been met.
• In 2008, the Scottish Government published Healthy eating, active living, a 3-year (2008-2011) action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity in Scotland. This was followed by the publication of Scotland's first National food & drink policy in June 2009.
• In February 2010, the Scottish Government and COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) published Preventing overweight and obesity in Scotland: A route map towards healthy weight. This 'obesity strategy' unveils ambitious plans to work across every area of government to make healthy choices easier for Scotland's population and sets out a range of preventative actions primarily targeted at decision makers in central and local government.
• Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action, published in 2011, sets out the action that can be taken by NHS Boards, local authorities and others to improve the nutrition of pregnant women, babies and young children in Scotland.
• In 2006, three quarters of the population had a daily salt intake higher than the recommended maximum 6g per day.
• The most recent estimates of fruit and vegetable consumption in Scotland indicate that only 20% of men and 23% of women consumed the recommended amount of five or more portions per day in 2010. The proportion of both men and women consuming five or more portions per day has remained fairly constant since 2003.
• People living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are less likely to meet five-a-day recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable consumption compared with those in the least deprived areas.
• In 2010, 12% of children aged 2-15 met the recommended daily intake of five or more portions.
• Children with at least one parent who meet the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables are more likely to meet the recommended daily intake.
• In 2010, ScotPHO published a report What is known about maternal and infant nutrition in Scotland? which describes the main patterns and trends in maternal and infant nutrition from the data that are available.