"Physical inactivity remains one of Scotland's major public health issues. Despite strong scientific evidence that physical activity can protect against many of Scotland's leading chronic diseases (e.g. coronary heart disease (CHD), some cancers, obesity, diabetes, hypertension) and the role physical activity can play in promoting positive mental health and well-being, two thirds of Scottish adults and one third of Scottish children do not do enough physical activity to gain these benefits." Extract from Five Year Review of "Let's Make Scotland More Active" - A Strategy for Physical Activity (2009) This week, Edinburgh Leisure, who run the city's sports and leisure facilities, have announced that unless a new service provider can be found, all four of the creches it provides will be closed. Details of the announcement can be found here http://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/detail-635 If this happens, parents and carers of pre-school children will find it more difficult to be physically active, and will therefore miss out on these benefits. Other points to bear in mind are 1. In practice, these carers are more likely to be women. Women's physical activity is already statistically lower than men's, and there has been some evidence this week that it is actually falling, particularly in young women. Cutting creche facilities will not help this trend. 2. New mothers are at risk of post natal depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. Exercise is being increasingly used to treat these problems, and indeed Edinburgh Leisure has run the Healthy Active Mothers programme to enable this. Cutting creche facilities will make it more difficult for this vulnerable group to get the help they need. 3. The Scottish Government's Health Living, Healthy Eating Action Plan particularly targets children. Children who are part of an active family are likely to view exercise as a normal part of their own daily lives, laying a good foundation for future health. Cutting creche facilities makes this more difficult. In the light of this, we, the undersigned, petition Edinburgh Leisure to reconsider this decision and to maintain the current creche provision.

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