It would be impossible for me to determine Scotland as a ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ country without making some generalisations. For that matter, I am not talking about every Scottish person when I answer the main question of ‘Is Scotland healthy?’ with no.
We are provided with statistics, such as those from the Scottish Health survey, which claim that from a sample of 4,894 adults, 74% of them describe their health as being ‘good’ or ‘very good’, with only 8% describing their health as bad or very bad. From the sample of 1,839 children, 95% of them described their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, while 1% described their health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. I personally believe that if this was the case, there is no way that Scotland’s mortality rate would be so high. There are many people in the samples taken who truly will live healthy lifestyles, but it could be argued that there will also be many who either do not understand the meaning of a healthy lifestyle, or who cannot admit to themselves or others that the way they are living their lives cannot be classed as healthy.
Looking firstly at diet, only 22% of adults in 2013 said that they ate the recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, with children eating on average 2.7 portions per day. Also, around 34% of children admitted to eating cakes at least twice a week. An unhealthy diet can vastly impact a persons wellbeing as it can lead to heart disease, vitamin deficiencies, and obesity, which can itself lead to various further health problems. Over 25% of adults in Scotland were obese in 2013. Today we live in a time in which nobody has time! So ready meals, jars of sauce and fast food are always the easy option. However, many of these contain hidden ingredients such as sodium, which, when eaten excessively, can lead to kidney problems, high blood pressure, heart problem, and weak bones.
Another cause of obesity is lack of exercise. 64% of adults in the sample claimed to meet the recommended weekly exercise guidelines. We could say that with more than half of the country reaching these guidelines, Scotland is a generally active country. However, with this in mind, we also must consider the other 46% of adults who are not meeting these guidelines, maybe just by a little bit, or maybe by doing no exercise at all. From personal experience, I believe that with the evolution of social media through the years, people are beginning to promote more healthy and active lifestyles through this. As fitness gurus become role models for many and as people post photographs of the transformations they have undergone through healthy diet and exercise, the generations of internet users are being inspired. However, depending on the attitudes to exercise that we grow up around, we are often exposed to a lack of motivation to exercise, or to the attitude that it is not really necessary. Therefore, there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to Scotland’s physical activity.
As well as these causes of poor health, I feel it is vital to mention alcohol consumption and smoking. With new legislation people are less likely to be harmed by second hand smoke. Although, it is clear that despite the known dangers of lung cancer, smoking still exists in Scotland and until this is not the case, it will contribute to our high mortality rates and poor general health. In addition, our culture has widely accepted that the people of today drink to get drunk. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol not only has the potential to damage the liver but can also effect people mentally.
Mental health plays a huge part in determining the general health of Scotland. With around one in ten adults having had two or more symptoms of depression, 5% saying that they had attempted to take their lives at least once, as well as 5% saying that they had harmed themselves on purpose without the intent of killing themselves, Scotland may not be the least, but it is not the most, mentally healthy country it could be. However, support for this is on the rise and I would claim that within my life-time I have noticed an increase in help available as well as a decrease in stigma against mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
The report also covers other areas of health such as dental health, childhood obesity, Asthma, Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Hypertension. The results of these aspects were varied but all of which displayed Scottish people as being relatively susceptive to having these diseases and health problems.
Therefore, it is fair to conclude that despite the high claims of good health in Scotland, the mortality rate is far too high and the NHS is far too stretched for these claims to be valid. So many diets consist of too much sugar and salt and not enough vitamins and minerals. Although many people claim to meet the guidelines of weekly exercise, there are still a group which remains not doing enough exercise. Obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse remain as huge problems, putting increasing pressure on the NHS to provide adequate health care. While mental health problems may be being more widely supported, they are often triggered by the stress that our society places on people. Meaning that Scotland, clearly, has quite a long way to go to becoming ‘healthy’.
