Healthy eating advice is proving popular

The advice line was launched by the Scottish Executive at the beginning of the year.

Scotland's food and health co-ordinator Gillian Kynoch said she found the take up encouraging.

The initiative has had more than 17,000 calls, sent out about 25,000 information packs and received 76,000 website visits.

Analysis of the calls found that inquiries from council estates in the areas of greatest hardship were 52% higher than expected, based on the population index.

These communities face the greatest barriers - in terms of both access and skills - to healthy food and healthy eating Gillian Kynoch Food and Health Co-ordinator

Calls from council estates with better off residents were 20% higher.

Overall, 45% of calls to the line came from these areas.

The line was also very successful in attracting calls from affluent town and city dwellers - receiving 70% more calls than expected, based on their proportion of the population.

The research covers the period from 7 January to 18 March.

Three times as many women than men called the line during that time.

Ms Kynoch said: "What is particularly encouraging from initial monitoring of the healthy living line is that it has proved very popular with people, particularly women, from low income communities.

An advertising campaign was launched

"These communities face the greatest barriers - in terms of both access and skills - to healthy food and healthy eating, and therefore any help and support which we are able to offer is vitally important."

Project manager Cathy Higginson, of the Health Education Board for Scotland (Hebs), said: "The challenge now is to ensure that the advice and help given to these callers - indeed all callers to the line - is translated into real improvements in their and their family's eating patterns.

"In terms of people calling the line, we still have some work to do to attract white collar workers, new homeowners, mature communities, affluent older people and rural communities, to the service."