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Poorest communities suffer the most as weight problem predicted to cost Scotland £6bn by 2030

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

THE true cost of Scotland's obesity crisis has been laid bare in a shocking new report showing a loss to the economy of more than £5billion a year.

Projections by economists show this will rise to almost £6billion within seven years if action is not taken to tackle the problem.

Currently 67 per cent of the Scottish population is either overweight or obese.

The report by research charity Nesta forecasts that if growth in obesity prevalence continues, the percentage of people living with obesity in Scotland could go up one point to 31 per cent for adults and to 17 per cent for children by 2030.

Based on that projection, the total cost of obesity will increase by 12 per cent between 2022 and 2030, reaching £5.9billion in 2030.

The annual cost of obesity in Scotland in 2022 was £5.3billion - equivalent to three per cent of Scotland's GDP last year. Of that, £4.1billion is the value lost to people through reduced quality of life.

The cost is calculated using quality-adjusted life years a measure used in public health research to quantify the value of healthy years of life. The £4.1billion figure is the equivalent of more than 58,000 years of good health lost each year to obesity in Scotland - 56,494 for adults and 1559 for children.