Quote....A PLAN to encourage more people in Inverclyde to become physically active and improve their long-term health and well-being is being launched.

Could this be the plan....

1) Eat healthily

2) Drink less (alcohol)

4) Don't smoke

5) Don't take drugs

6) Exercise

If you don't comply and you need assistance, medication and the services of the NHS then expect to pay for it.  Oh how the Scottish Government played into the hands of those who continually want, want and want and expect everyone to do something for them e.g. no prescription charges. Those who eat too much and have become obese, those who smoke too much and have related illnesses and those who abuse drugs then look to the NHS to help them. A walk through the town would back up my observations. And it's healthy to walk!

Thanks.

Craig

-- I refer to your article "Views Sought On Healthy Living Strategy". Let me suggest eating five (fruit and vegetables) a day, doing some exercise and cutting down on fat, sugar, salt and foosty jacks. Do we nee a quango or forum to tell us that? It’s in ever paper every day of the week.

So how much will this cost? How many such initiatives have we had in the recent past? Will they "all" sit around a table drinking coffee whilst discussing what to put in the leaflet -- as per eat five a day and walk as opposed to....

Again, how many will get paid for this? Or get expenses for it? A complete waste of public money - AGAIN. Oh I nearly forgot, go to the doctor if you are in pain or you think you are going to drop deid.

John Bowes

-- I agree with John Bowes to the extent that we do indeed all know we should eat better and exercise more, and that more self-righteous preaching (my adjectives, not his) is a waste of time and resources. A more useful question, or area for inquiry, then, would surely be why we don’t act on the knowledge. My own response would be that it seems clear that knowledge is not enough and that something else is needed.

There is a lot of research already in existence showing a strong correlation between poverty and inequality and ill-health – and evidence in Inverclyde itself of differences in life expectancy between lower and higher-income areas – so surely this would be a more sensible starting point? If we could tackle poverty and inequality then I surmise that health will improve.

That may be a big issue but I don’t think it’s one we can ignore. Increase in incomes and a big increase in the number of quality jobs available is central but at the same time there are other issues to be tackled which would make a difference – for example, public transports costs are punishingly high for some of us and that makes it much harder to shop for healthy food.

If you are unemployed and living in Slaemuir, say, then to the cost of your shopping has to be added the bus fare/s. That makes it harder to shop around and go to Lidl as well as Tesco or Iceland for your healthy food. People wanting to use sports facilities have a similar problem; it’s not impossible to eat healthily on a smaller budget but it’s a lot easier to eat healthily if you have money – and for some people it’s not easy to eat at all.

That’s perhaps obvious but there is also the matter of how people feel. I gave up smoking when life was going well, not when it wasn’t, which is often the case. It is a lot easier to make lifestyle changes when things are going well and you feel “up” – when you are down or tired then a fag or a drink may be exactly what you want to get you through it.

Boris Johnson or David Cameron on their bicycles have good bikes and clothing and somewhere to keep them for a start, but they also don’t then have to start dealing with whining weans who want the same expensive trainers as their mates and if they finish a 12-hour shift they can get a lift home. Increase income, reduce inequality, make access real (physical, transport, financial, social) and then we will see a change.

Jane

-- I agree with the previous comments to a point however, whilst most of us have the knowledge that we should eat more healthy food, five portions of fruit and veg a day, smoke less, drink less alcohol and take more exercise, there are residents of Inverclyde who have no interest in even attempting to improve their health. Why? Because they get everything handed to them on a plate -- free housing, free taxis to get their methadone, vouchers for milk/nappies/fruit and veg for their family, extra benefit because they have a walking stick/dog/loads of weans. What incentive is there for them to get off their backsides and contribute to society in a meaningful way? Absolutely none! We have probably one of the largest number of registered addicts of drugs and alcohol in the country who have no interest in cleaning up their lives, or those of their children.

I have no particular political beliefs but David Cameron spoke a lot of sense (in my humble opinion) when he said that people should not have large families unless they were willing and able to support them. How is it fair that someone who goes out to work has less disposable income than somebody who sits on their ass at home getting everything paid for them.

The cynic in me wonders if Inverclyde is part of some social experiment where they've taken away our main source of employment (shipbuilding) to see what happens. Well we've seen what happens -- high youth and adult unemployment, high numbers addicted to drink and drugs, shortened life expectancy, generations of families who have never worked a day in their lives and get everything paid for them. Do we need another bunch of "experts" to tell us what we SHOULD be doing to be more healthy? NO! It is well known that the type of person who engages with these groups are not the ones they need to reach. What needs to be done is cookery classes set up in community centres to teach people a) how to cook and b) how to do it on a budget. SHOW them how to make big pots of soup that sticks to your ribs and fills you up, mince and tatties, even egg and chips instead of the over processed junk that many people eat.

Rant over!

Hard Working Citizen

-- Always good to hear from another ranter and I’m in total agreement about the cookery lessons. I’ll see you at the barricades in the war against pre-digested recovered meat and salt n’ cholesterol ready meals and even sign up for cookery lessons if you include a selection of vegetable curries.

Need to call you on the facts though – no free taxis for methadone, no extra benefit for sticks or dogs and veg. What there are, are disincentives instead – kick the alcohol or drugs and you will be very vulnerable to going back to using them, for a while afterwards. And how do we support people – make them more likely to face a benefit cut. What’s that about? And yes it’s defeatist to talk only about benefits, but how easy is it to get a job in this area, never mind if you’re on the programme?

So I think we need to support people on benefits and challenge our own cultural problems at the same time.

And also - did you do the questionnaire? It seemed to me to be a bit skewed, possibly in the direction of the existing plan, but maybe I’m just an old tattie-eating, lentil-souping cynic.

Jane

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