Scotland’s health record continues to trail those of other nations within the UK, a report by Scotland's Chief Statistician reveals.
The report, which compared results from the 2008 Scottish Health Survey with other UK countries' health surveys, found Scotland continues to lag behind its neighbours in several areas, particularly surrounding alcohol, smoking and obesity.
Among the key findings of the report were:
- In women, overweight including obesity prevalence (BMI 25 or more) was significantly higher in Scotland (61.8 per cent) than in England (56.9 per cent) or Northern Ireland (54.0 per cent).
- In men, the prevalence of overweight including obesity was significantly higher in Scotland (68.5 per cent) than in Northern Ireland (64.1 per cent).
- 20 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women in Scotland ate the recommended five or more portions of fruit and veg a day compared with 25 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women in England.
- Mean daily alcohol consumption was higher among men in Scotland (6.2 units) than men in England (4.3 units), the same was true for women (3.5 units versus 2.2).
- 27 per cent of men in Scotland smoked compared with 24 per cent in England. The equivalent figures for women were 25 per cent and 20 per cent. Women in Scotland were also more likely to smoke than women in Wales (25 per cent versus 22 per cent).
Public Health Minister Shona Robison said the report showed encouraging signs of improvement but more could be done.
"Scotland historically has an appalling health record. For generations, far too many people have died before their time with our culture of poor diet, heavy drinking and smoking all taking their toll,” she said.
“That's why we're taking action to improve our nation's health and it is heartening that we are seeing improvements in many areas. But, as today's statistics show, other parts of the UK are still doing better and this clearly demonstrates that we can, and must, do more to help Scots live healthy lives.
“We are already taking action. For instance, our Alcohol Bill will help to end the sale of ludicrously cheap alcohol while the new tobacco legislation will end both displays of cigarettes in shops and sales from vending machines. We're also investing heavily in stop smoking services - over £40 million in the current spending period.”
SNP MSP and former GP Dr Ian McKee said the findings highlighted the need to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.
“Not only are Scots more likely to drink to excess, our consumption levels on a normal day are 25 per cent higher than those of drinkers in England,” he said.
“It is clear that while alcohol blights communities across the UK it is having a specific and a far more severe impact in Scotland.
“These levels of harm and over consumption show exactly why we need to introduce a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland, to reduce consumption and to reduce harm and why we cannot and should not wait for any longer.”
Other key findings in the report showed the percentage of Scots who possessed a high GHQ12 score (indicating possible psychiatric disorder) was lower than in Northern Ireland and similar to the rates found in England. Women in Scotland were more likely to have a limiting long-term condition than women in England (28 per cent vs 25 per cent), while men in Wales (26 per cent) had higher rates of limiting long-term conditions than men in Scotland (23 per cent).
The results of the 2009 Scottish Health Survey will be published on September 28, 2010.
