Summary Report from the Alliance's Event - Looking Back and Moving Forward

27 March 2007

The first ever Food &; Health Alliance event took place in February 2006, with over 150 members meeting in Glasgow to celebrate and discuss the successes of the Scottish Diet Action Plan (SDAP) and develop future plans for moving forward.

Professor Peter Donnelly, Scotland's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, opened the meeting by praising the work of everyone. Time was taken to reflect and look back to 1996. Then as this was a day to acknowledge achievements, a number of initiatives were cited. To conclude the future challenges and opportunities which face everyone were raised. Some of these were the rising levels of obesity and understanding our food culture in Scotland.

To help everyone realise their important contribution to improving the health of the nation, a short film that highlights some of these areas of success was presented.

Delegates were also given an opportunity to reflect and comment on the key moments that contributed to the success of the SDAP, through the use of a picture gallery, designed to act as a chronological journal. An entire wall was covered with cartoons of key stepping stones that have contributed to the success of the SDAP.

Delegates were asked to comment on the images, saying whether they agreed or disagreed, thus allowing everyone's thoughts and ideas to channel into future directives.

Two successful workshops provided an atmosphere for discussions and ideas to thrive. Delegates discussed their experiences of the SDAP, what had contributed to these positive results and what could future success look like. A number of themes emerged from both workshops. Among delegates' future desires were ensuring all children were fed healthy foods, from the time they are babies, and improving communication channels.

Increased sustainable funding was also deemed necessary, as was building upon existing partnerships and fostering new alliances. In order for these goals to be achieved, all delegates agreed that a key ingredient was passion. Participants in the workshops also agreed that sharing and passing on the vision for a healthier Scotland was vital, and that in order to do that, everyone would need to continue to be brave and courageous.

Delegates felt the Food &; Health Alliance is key in helping to support change, by providing a platform to share information and share ideas and best practice. The Alliance can also increase access to information and help those taking on the challenge of improving Scotland?s health to feel less isolated and better connected.

To conclude the day, Gillian Kynoch, Food and Health Coordinator at the Scottish Executive, presented the emerging direction for food and health in Scotland. Over the next four years, the Scottish Executive will work on embedding different aspects of food and health into the delivery plans of different departments, as well as focusing on a number of initiatives. Maternal nutrition covering pre-conception, pregnancy and immediately after, especially in low income areas, as will the infant feeding strategy be addressed. Creating a healthy environment for children to grow in is also a key aim, as will raising nutritional standards in the public sector.

The food industry is also a key part of emerging plans. The social marketing messages that are reaching adult Scots will be assessed. A monitoring and surveillance package will also be developed to track further changes and trends to what people and children are eating.

For further information contact fha@health.scot.nhs.uk

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