Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says there must be a much stronger focus on making a difference in deprived communities.

says more is being done to tackle inequalities.

Mr Millan says this work will contribute in the fight against obesity.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth says the statistics show there has not been an impact yet.

Mr Millan says it will take years to see the change.

SNP MSP Ivan McKee asks what data is available on the financial benefits of tackling obesity.

Mr McKee asks how much support Ms Campbell has across the government.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says the Christie Commission is still relevant now and silo working must be avoided. 

Ms Campbell says civic society and the public sector must face the same way and collect its resources together.

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton says a lot of the obesity agenda is about children.

Mr Cole-Hamilton says a lot of advertising is targeted at the younger generation. 

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says she has written to the UK government on the issue of advertising junk food before the watershed but there has been no answer as yet. 

Ms Campbell calls for a cultural change across Scotland.

Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay asks if there is an obesity crisis in Scotland

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says the scale of the problem we face in Scotland is significant and needs to be tackled.

Image source, bbc

Ms Campbell says the obesity problem is putting a strain on our health services.

Mr Findlay says he is not trying to embarrass the minister but he thinks by acknowledging it is a crisis it would be a starting point.

The public health minister says the problem is significant and she is not trying to shy away from that.

Ms Campbell says the Scottish government is not complacent about obesity.

The public health minister says the environment we live in must be changed to be more healthy.

She says: "There are no silver bullets."

Image source, bbc

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell says Scotland is at the wrong end of the league table on obesity.

Ms Campbell says: "We all need to eat less, eat better and be active."

MSPs will now quiz:

• Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell
• Fergus Millan from the Scottish Government
• Derek Grieve from the Scottish Government

Scottish Labour said it was a "sad reality" of Scotland that people from a poorer background were more likely to be in poorer health.

The party's health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: "We need to tackle the root causes of inequality in our communities and that starts with an end to austerity and stopping the cuts to vital public services that impact most on the poorest and most vulnerable in our society."

The Scottish Conservatives health spokesman, Donald Cameron, said the SNP had shown no "clear ideas" about how to tackle obesity.

"The Scottish government needs to outline in detail exactly what it intends to do to help parents keep their children's weight down," he said.

"They won't want to see tokenistic gestures, but hard and fast solutions which encourage a more active lifestyle and healthier diet."

Image source, bbc

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: "We have consistently called on the UK government to ban junk food advertising before the 9pm watershed and we are looking at what further effective actions we can take within the powers available to us, including the use of multi-buy promotions, as well as examining a range of actions to improve diet, physical activity and education.

"We are engaging with the food and drink industry on action to offer healthier choices, rebalance promotions, and reformulate products, with a focus on reducing calories, salt, fats and added sugar."

Image source, bbc

Claire Hislop from NHS Health Scotland says the inequality gap needs to be reduced and measures have to be in place to ensure it doesn't get any wider. 

Image source, NHS Scotland

From the NHS Health Scotland, external submission.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Neil Findlay says MSPs often do not practice what they preach.

Mr Findlay says the parliament has a gym with no equipment in it, because MSPs are scared of being seen spending money on themselves.

Image source, Physical Activity for Health Research Centre

Physical Activity for Health Research Centre evidence summary: 

•  a need for a wide definition of physical activity (PA) as sport is only one domain of activity
• exercise combined with diet interventions are more effective than diet-only interventions
• moderate-intensity to high-intensity exercise only interventions, without prescribed diet, are also effective 
• walking interventions that promote increases in step counts can result in 1-1.5% weight loss without calorie restrictions
• it is likely that the volume of activity required for weight loss is higher than the current public health dose
• ‘Football Fans in Training’ has provided Scottish data on an approach to weight loss for men and resulted in 5% weight loss at one year and maintenance of weight loss over baseline levels at 3.5 years 

Professor Nanette Mutrie from the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh says change happens "when small groups start doing things differently and it becomes the norm."

Professor Milne says we must continue with individual responses to the problem to solve the overall obesity issue.

Image source, Thinkstock

The UK government has published draft legislation for a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, which is set to begin from April 2018.

There will be two bands - one for soft drinks with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml and a higher one for drinks with more than 8g per 100ml.

Ministers hope it will help tackle the nation's obesity problem.

Many companies have already begun cutting the amount of sugar in their drinks.

Image source, Thinkstock

More than one in 10 children in Scotland have started primary school overweight or obese since 2005, a study by Cancer Research UK shows.

It said almost 83,000 four to five-year-olds entered P1 carrying excess weight between 2005-2006 and 2014-2015.

The charity warned obesity could become a "crippling burden on society and the NHS" if action was not taken.

The Scottish government said it encouraged people to be more active, eat less and eat better.

According to Cancer Research UK's Statistical Information Team, four and five-year-olds in Scotland are also "more likely" to be overweight than in other areas of the UK.