Largs based MSP Jamie Greene joined others in the Scottish Parliament in marking Mental Health Awareness Week.

This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is body image, which coincided with a survey conducted by the Mental Health Foundation which highlighted stark issues in anxiousness and depression in a third of young people in Scotland because of their body image.

The results of the Mental Health Foundation’s survey highlighted the profound impact that social media and online advertising is having on young people in Scotland.

Mr Greene, who has an office in Largs, raised the findings of the report with the Scottish Government and called on it to work with social media companies, the UK Government and regulators to improve online platforms, practices and ensure that issues of abuse and harassment online can be easily reported.

Jamie Greene MSP commented: “Issues around perception of body image is clearly something that continues to impact not only young people, but also adults. Advertising campaigns before the internet and social media took off did have an impact on what we perceive the be the right body image but with the explosion of platforms such as Instagram, this issue will likely be relevant for some time to come.

“It’s vital that on top of working with regulators, social media companies and the UK Government, we must do more to educate young people about what healthy body aspirations are and proper dieting.

“I welcome the Scottish Government proposals to set up an advisory group to better inform ministers what actions they should be taking."