Prisoners to help fellow inmates keep fit

Description

'Prisoners have been trained as health coaches in an attempt to improve life in Scotland’s increasingly overcrowded jails.After the authorities accepted that previous efforts to persuade inmates to eat better and smoke less had failed, 12 inmates at HMP Perth have been trained to assist fellow inmates to make “positive lifestyle choices”  The pilot scheme, which could be replicated across the country if it proves successful, was created after a paper by researchers at the University of Dundee and NHS Health Scotland concluded that there was a need for “an alternative approach” after previous health education had not led to changes in behaviour.'