Just over two years ago, the curtain came down on the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Those couple of weeks were a delight to be a part of for everyone involved; from the athletes to the volunteers to the spectators, Glasgow 2014 was, it was universally agreed, a resounding success.

But on Wednesday, The Herald’s front page story reported that the hosting of the Commonwealth Games failed to create a legacy of increased levels of physical activity. The findings came from the most comprehensive health survey conducted since the conclusion of the Games. The survey also found that 65 percent of adults and 28 percent of children living in Scotland are overweight or obese. These are shocking statistics.

Glasgow’s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games created a hope that the event would encourage large sections of the public to take up sport or become more active. Despite the fact that a major sporting event had never left a lasting legacy in terms of participation, there were hopes that Glasgow, and Scotland, could buck this trend. Much was made of the building of a new velodrome in Glasgow’s east end, with some believing that improved sporting facilities in one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas would encourage more of the local residents into sport. It was an optimistic point of view, and I say that not only with the benefit of hindsight.

I have written before in these pages that I believe that elite sport and mass participation sport are two completely different entities; some kids who have aspirations to become elite athletes themselves will have watched the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow two years ago and have been inspired but the majority, who have neither the will nor the desire to become world-class sportsmen and women, will have viewed the Games as little more than entertainment.

If improving health is a target for local authorities and the Scottish government, it needs to be separated from elite sport entirely. Rather than aiming to get scores of children on to a track bike and riding around a velodrome, why are things like the ‘Daily Mile’ not being rolled out around the country immediately?

The ‘Daily Mile’ is one of the most ingenious, yet simple solutions, or partial solutions, to Scotland’s growing health problem. The now widely publicised project was thought up by Elaine Wyllie, then head teacher of St Ninian’s Primary in Stirling, and it involved every child in the school running or walking one mile at some point in the school day. They did their mile wearing their school uniform and, in the most part, took only around 15 minutes meaning that their academic work was barely disrupted. The benefits were quite remarkable- fewer children were overweight and behaviour and concentration improved markedly. The ‘Daily Mile’ costs nothing, requires no specialist sports coaches and involves minimal planning. Most importantly, the ‘Daily Mile’ gets kids in the habit of exercising, the importance of which cannot be overstated.

This week’s health survey also reported that the number of schoolgirls engaged in physical activity in 2015 was 69 percent, even lower than it was in 2011. It is well known by everyone involved in sport at any level that young girls are the group which take part in the least amount of sport or physical activity and as yet, there is no definitive reason as to why the drop-out rates are so high. Few young girls, other than those aspiring to be Commonwealth medallists themselves, will have watched Lynsey Sharp or Hannah Miley or Eilidh Doyle at Glasgow 2014 and been motivated to train harder as a result of watching these women win medals. Most will have watched them in the same abstract way they watch bakers on the Great British Bake Off. That they could become like these athletes is so unrealistic for so many young girls that it doesn’t cross their mind to aspire to be like them. Whereas the ‘Daily Mile’ is eminently achievable for every boy and girl in the country, particularly if they have been doing it since the age of 5.

Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign was a resounding success because it featured ‘normal’ women, of all shapes and sizes, doing ‘normal’ activities. The women in the campaign were not doing heptathlons or the 400m hurdles, they were doing spin classes and going jogging around the streets.

If Scotland wants to inspire more children to become elite athletes then lets keep pumping money into elite sporting events because this will, almost certainly, inspire those select few who have what it takes to become world-class athletes. But if we want to have a healthier, fitter nation, then let's forget the fancy facilities and flashy events and get back to basics. Rather than hoping that thousands of Scotland’s population will take up track cycling, why don’t we aspire to every Scot walking or running a mile each day. It would cost nothing. And think what a difference it would make.