The five-a-day campaign has been revised to one-a-week in Scotland due largely to a lack of resources in the unhealthy Celtic nation.

Although schoolchildren north-of-the-border are being encouraged to improve their diet – which is still dominated by chips and fast food – the wheels of change appear to be turning extremely slowly.

The five-a-day scheme, which is up and running and beginning to bite in England and Wales, will not extend to a country which has the dubious distinction of the highest incidence of cancer and coronary heart disease of any European nation.

Dieticians and teachers in Ayrshire are teaming up to bring fruit into schools, but limited funds mean six of the poorest schools in the area will receive just a single piece of per pupil, per week.

The project's manager Louise Benson told the Observer: 'We'd like to see it rolled out to all the schools in the area, but it seems there is no chance of that happening in the near future.' A local doctor was concerned pupils would lose out on the proven health benefits of eating fresh produce regularly, and claimed anything would do for now as long it meant as scholars ate more fruit and veg.

He told the Observer: 'We are starting with the bar at a low height here. Even getting people to eat a single portion of frozen peas a month would be a step in the right direction.' Just 30 per cent of Scottish children eat cooked vegetables at least once a week, with only 10 per cent of boys consuming salad at least on one occasion during that time. The figure rises slightly – but not much – for girls. Even though young females are traditionally more health-conscious than males, only 16 per managed to eat salad at least once a week.

Glasgow, home of the culinary delights of deep-fried Mars Bars, is actually a bright spot for fruit supply in schools. The Fruit Plus scheme takes fruit to 60,000 young Glasweigans, with a free piece for every under-11 three days a week.

But Annie Anderson, director of the centre for public health at Dundee University, was dismayed the initiative went no further than the limits of Scotland's largest city.

She told the Observer: 'What's being done in Glasgow is fantastic, but that's just one part of Scotland. What's needed is a five-a-day strategy for the whole of Scotland.' Meanwhile FPC ceo Doug Henderson, himself a Scotsman, lamented the worrying situation north-of-the-border, but said the problem was being dealt with.

He said: 'Scotland has always had one of the worst dietary problems in Europe. It's a culture in Scotland, and breaking that culture is what the nutritional scheme is planning to do when it comes in later this year.'