The teachable moment

Abstract

First paragraph: Unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, excess body weight and smoking account for half of all cancers, as well other types of serious illness (World Cancer Research Fund, 2009). Recent health behaviour surveys (Craig and Hirani, 2009; Robinson et al, 2010) indicate that the majority of people living in the UK are not meeting the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations on diet, alcohol consumption or physical activity. Perhaps more worrying is the latest research reporting that only 19% of boys and 11% of girls meet Scottish Government guidelines for moderate to vigorous physical activity (Currie et al, 2011). The UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that the proportion of participants meeting the '5-a-day' fruit and vegetable guideline was 7% of girls and 22% of boys aged 11 to 18 years (Food Standards Agency, 2009).