scotPHO introduction:
  High Blood Pressure
  High Cholesterol
  Obesity
  Key points
  Introduction
Policy context
  Risk factors
  Data
  Key data sources
  Key references and evidence
  Useful links
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Obesity: policy context

The Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan (2007) outlines the Scottish Government’s priorities for improving health in Scotland. Specific priorities relevant to obesity included the development of a national food policy and collaboration with NHS Boards to develop weight management strategies to tackle obesity.

In 2008, the Scottish Government published Healthy Weight, Active Living: an action plan to improving diet, increase physical activity and tackling obesity (2008-2011).  The Action Plan includes commitments to increase funding for NHS boards in Scotland, to deliver consistent weight management strategies across Scotland and to roll out the Counterweight programme across Scotland. This action plan builds on the continued delivery of two existing strategies: the Scottish Diet Action Plan and the physical activity strategy (2003).

The Scottish Government has also set a new national target to reduce the rate of increase in the proportion of children outwith the healthy weight range by 2018. Progress against this national target is available on the Scottish Government website. The national target will also be underpinned by a new NHS 'HEAT' target for the provision of unhealthy weight treatment programmes in NHS Board areas. The Scottish Government has published Child Healthy Weight Programmes Development Guidance PDF Button (173KB), for NHS Boards, on meeting these national targets.

There is specific guidance on the clinical management of obesity in children and young people in Scotland in the form of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) Guideline No. 69

Obesity also features in the Quality and Outcome Framework for the new General Medical Services contract.

At a UK level the Foresight Tackling Obesities: Future Choices Project has gathered scientific evidence from across a wide range of disciplines to  produce a  long-term vision of how a sustainable response to obesity in the UK can be delivered over the next 40 years. Further information on the Project, its aims, current work and outputs can be accessed on the Foresight obesity pages