Summary
This update to the Situation Report on the Scottish Diet continues to highlight the ongoing challenge to improve the Scottish diet, including new sections exploring the out of home environment. It is important to note that the data included covers a period of time prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore provides a baseline for further investigation regarding its impact on diet in Scotland.
The report shows that there continues to be a lack of progress towards the dietary goals and improving obesity and diet related poor health. Two out of three people in Scotland remain either overweight or obese, with a higher proportion of people living with obesity in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived. We continue to buy a lot of discretionary foods and drinks from shops and supermarkets, and these tend to be heavily promoted.
The food and drink we purchase from the out of home environment, including deliveries, takeaways, food on the go and children’s food, tend to be less healthy. There is support for the food environment to provide healthier food to make it easier for consumers to choose a healthier diet. Everyone, including the food and drink industry, media and government needs to play their part.
This report is designed for use by policy makers, educators, stakeholders including the food industry, health professionals and consumers. It is an update to a previous version of this report published in 2018.
Downloadable files
The Scottish Diet - It needs to change 2018 update
The report updates previous key findings about the state of the Scottish diet, and also provides new insights into consumer attitudes towards changing the food environment, and information on calories consumed from alcohol.
