Obesity in Scotland: An epidemiology briefing

26 September 2007

Obesity continues to be a serious public health concern in Scotland as the prevalence rises.

The new report, 'Obesity in Scotland: An epidemiology briefing (2007)', from the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO), provides an overview of the epidemiology of obesity in Scotland.

It describes geographical and social variations in obesity, health inequalities and related morbidity and mortality. The report concludes by identifying some important information needs and gaps for public health intelligence on obesity in Scotland.

Key findings of the report include:

The prevalence of obesity(BMI>30kg/m2) in Scotland has increased over the past two decades, reaching 22% in men and 24% in women in 2003. There were marked increases in men aged 35-64 years and in women aged 35-44 years.
Obesity in children is now common. In Scotland, nearly, one in five (18%) boys and over one in ten (14%) girls aged 2-15 years are obese.
International comparisons show that Scotland has very high levels of obesity compared with other European countries.

Obesity in Scotland: An epidemiology briefing (2007) (PDF, 2.22Mb)

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