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Publishing their data in the European Journal of Public Health, they found that former scouts and guides were 35 percent more likely to have excellent general health at the age of 50 than those who weren’t scouts or guides.

They concluded: “This study found evidence for a positive association between attending youth development clubs in childhood and youth and adult health. This relationship existed after adjustment for conditions in childhood that affect both later life health and the likelihood of club attendance.

“In our study, we find the association with later life social position and health remains after controlling for socioeconomic position in childhood, suggesting that rather than being a tool for re-enforcing early-life privilege, youth development groups equally support children from all backgrounds.”

As to why this was the case, the researchers suggested this was because the scouts and guides had achieved a higher socioeconomic status later in life.

They also discovered they had higher levels of social mobility.

On this, they added: “Several mechanisms have been proposed as to how youth development programmes could improve social mobility. These include the broadening of social networks to aid social advantage, the acquisition of psychological capital (including resilience, self-efficacy and optimism required for competitive workplace advantage) and the acquisition of social and human capital (leading to stronger job prospects and subsequent social mobility).

“In our study, we find the association with later life social position and health remains after controlling for socioeconomic position in childhood, suggesting that rather than being a tool for re-enforcing early-life privilege, youth development groups equally support children from all backgrounds.”

The University of Edinburgh’s Professor Christopher Dibben said: “Given the importance societies place on ensuring good health in later life, supporting youth programmes that are delivered by charities and supported by volunteers, may represent a cost-effective way of improving population health.”

Meanwhile, post-doctoral research assistant, Doctor Laurie Berrie commented: “”Access to cohort studies, such as the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s, is invaluable.

“They allow us to better understand how aspects of childhood can have an impact on a person much later in life and informing how we might take action to improve lives.”

The study, meanwhile, has been a rout for the scouts, demonstrating the long term positive impact of being part of one of these organisations.

Chief executive of the Scouts, Matt Hyde, said: “”Every week, 420,000 young people take part in Scouts, having adventures and developing life skills. “This study proves what we already know – being a Scout is good for you.

“Young people who participate in Scouts are 35% more likely to have self-reported excellent health at age 50 compared to their peers. Scouts is also a route to greater social mobility over someone’s lifetime. Scouts is a cost-effective way of improving the health of the population, and its needed now more than ever.”

While the study is a positive review of scout based impact, the authors did admit to some limitations, such as asking those who were scouts to just report on their general health.

They wrote: “Our study used a self-reported measure of general health in which participants were asked to report on their health over the previous 12 months.

“This does not differentiate between physical and mental health and simply asks participants to report on their ‘health’, however, our results are in keeping with the other study reporting on Scout–Guide membership and adult mental health.”

Furthermore, another of their limitations was the relatively small sample size of the group they studied.

Nevertheless, the authors believe their study is a strong one scientifically. They wrote: “We found evidence that participation in clubs in childhood that can be considered to have a PYD focus is associated with self-reported adult general health with this relationship being partly mediated by adult social position.

“This adds to previous research in this area, which found a positive relationship between Scout and Guide participation and adult mental health12 and suggests that further research into the long-term effects of other organized activities in youth may be useful.”

As a result, this highlights the benefits for adults in being part of groups and engaging in group activities during their early years.

During their adult years, the main pillars of health are regular exercise and eating a balanced diet.

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