A DRUMCHAPEL councillor says children should get free access to gyms as figures reveal a quarter of toddlers in Greater Glasgow are obese.

Councillor Paul Carey is urging youngsters under the age of 18 to be given free Glasgow Club gym access and free school meals for all primary school kids to help improve their health.

He said: “We place a high priority on the health and wellbeing of our pupils.

“Almost all our schools have met government targets of two hours of physical education per week. We also provide free swimming.

“I’m calling for under 18s to be given access to free gyms in Glasgow Club and also for all children to be given a free school meal, extending it to P7 so every child will be guaranteed a healthy meal once a day.

“I think it’s the only way to tackle this obesity crisis.”

Cllr Carey’s calls come just days after figures revealed five per cent of toddlers across Greater Glasgow are obese.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s director of Public Health, Linda de Caestecker, said government funding to tackle the issue was “relatively small”.

Data from health checks on two-and-a-half-year-olds also showed that almost a third who were overweight or obese live in the most deprived areas of the city.

The board has put together an action plan which will include intensive, home-based support for families with the most severely obese pre-school children.

Though stabilising, rates of children with weight problems are much higher than in previous decades with many being “set on a path of lifelong obesity” and at greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer in later life.

Dr de Caestecker outlined a range of measures aimed at tackling the issue at a board level including increasing access to “affordable” cooking programmes for families and greater access to physical activities out of school time. She said “good practice” was already widely established in the city’s schools.

Dr de Caestecker said: “Funding for child healthy weight is currently provided from the Health Improvement Prevention funding bundle and for 2016/2017 totals £342,000.

“For such an important public health problem, it can be seen that this is a relatively small amount of money.

“The focus must be on prevention as well as the management of weight gain from pregnancy through to childhood and into adulthood.”

The board is drafting a Child Healthy Weight Framework which identified key priorities at every age, including “robust” advice on healthy eating and exercise by health visitors to new mums and intensive programmes for the most overweight early years and primary school children and their parents in community settings.

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Public Health and Sport, added: “As part of the Programme for Government the First Minister announced our intention to set out and consult on a new Diet and Obesity Strategy next year, and we welcome that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are considering what more can be done to improve child health.

“The Scottish Government invests over £2 billion a year in the health board, and we also invest in a range of national projects and initiatives to tackle obesity.

“Last month’s Scottish Health Survey showed a rise in the number of healthy weight children.

“The proportion of healthy weight boys has risen for the fourth year running to 73% - the highest level since reporting of data began in 1998. For girls the level has risen to 70%.”