Olympian turned MSP Brian Whittle has urged the Scottish Government to start planning how to get people back into sport and exercise when the pandemic has passed.
His call comes after a report published by the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre said that around 75% of people were less physically active during the pandemic. According to the study, a similar number of people believe their physical health, mental health and communities have been negatively affected by it.
Brian has long argued that access to physical activity of all kinds, can improve mental health and reduce the number of people suffering from preventable health conditions. The South Scotland MSP wants to see plans being made now to encourage people to get active again once the pandemic has subsided. Commenting after his contribution in Holyrood, Brian said that he wanted to avoid rising numbers of preventable illnesses becoming a legacy of the pandemic.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“During the first lockdown, the weather was on our side and going out for a bike ride or a walk or a run was a more appealing prospect and even then we saw a decline in physical activity.
The support the Scottish Government and UK Government have provided to gyms and other organisations that encourage physical activity is welcome, but much more needs to be done.
Looking after our physical and mental health during lockdown has been really difficult and many of us have ended up feeling worse as a result.
If we want to avoid growing numbers of people suffering from preventable conditions being a legacy of Covid-19, the Scottish Government need to start planning now about how to encourage and support people to become more physically active again.”
