PRIMARY schoolchildren throughout Scotland are being encouraged to give up being crisp-eating couch potatoes and get back to basics - running, skipping and jumping - in a bid to improve their fitness.

Sportscotland has committed £2.8 million of lottery funds over the next four years to introduce a programme aimed at increasing activity levels among youngsters. The organisation says the move follows studies showing that more than 15 per cent of Scottish children are overweight or even obese, leading to various health problems in later life.

Sportscotland bosses say improving children’s fitness is not just desirable it is absolutely essential if the current negative trends in Scotland’s health are to be reversed.