Almost a third of adults are living with obesity, the Scottish Health Survey shows

The Scottish Health Survey 2023 results, published today, provide information on the health, and factors relating to health, of adults and children in Scotland.

Almost a third of adults (32%) were living with obesity, the highest level recorded and an increase from 24% in 2003.

Over a fifth of younger adults were using e-cigarettes or vaping.  Twelve per cent of adults were current e-cigarette or vaping device users, an increase from 10% in 2022. The proportion was highest for adults aged 16-24 (22%).

Fourteen per cent of adults reported experiencing food insecurity, an increase from 9% in 2021 and the highest level since the time series began in 2017.

Drinking at hazardous or harmful levels continued to decrease, from 34% of adults in 2003 to 20% in 2023.  The proportion of males that drank to hazardous or harmful levels was twice as high as for females (28% and 14% respectively).

Mental wellbeing and mental ill health returned to similar levels to those reported in 2021, following an increase in 2022.  Average Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing (WEMWBS) scores for adults increased to 48.9, up from 47.0 in 2022 and 48.6 in 2021.  The proportion of adults with a GHQ-12 score of 4 or more (21%), indicative of a possible psychiatric disorder, returned to a similar level to 2021 (22%) following an increase to 27% in 2022. 

Other key findings show that in 2023:

• One in ten adults (10%) reported feeling lonely ‘most’ or ‘all of the time’, similar to the level reported in 2022 (11%).  Adults aged 16-24 (19%) and those living in the most deprived areas (14%) were the most likely to report feeling like this in the past week.
• Adult prevalence of limiting long-term conditions was 38%, similar to 2022 (37%) and continuing the general upward trend. 
• Prevalence of any CVD (excluding diabetes or high blood pressure) remained at 15% of adults. 
• More than one in two adults (57%) reported having ever undertaken cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and one in five adults (18%) had undertaken CPR training in the last two years.
• Fourteen per cent of adults reported being unpaid carers, similar to levels in recent years (14-16% since 2016).
• Eight per cent of adults and 2% of children reported currently having long COVID (compared to 5% of adults and 1% of children in 2021).
• Two per cent of adults reported that they had long COVID and it limited their ability to carry out day-to-day activities ‘a lot.’
• The proportion of adults reporting difficulties when visiting the dentist (34%) has increased since 2019 (20%) and 2021 (23%), returning to a similar level to 2009 (35%).
• The proportion of adults meeting the recommended levels of physical activity (63%) was not significantly lower than in 2022 (65%) and remained within the overall range recorded between 2012 and 2022 (62-69%).
• Around one in seven (15%) adults were current smokers, the same proportion as in 2022.
• Fourteen per cent of adults reported drug use during the last 12 months. Prevalence was highest for those aged 16-34 (26%-27%)

Background

The Scottish Health Survey 2023 main report, including a summary of key results, is available on the Scottish Health Survey website.  

Key trends for Scotland and indicators for NHS health boards and local authorities are available via the Scottish Health Survey Dashboard.

Accredited Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) measures mental wellbeing in the general population. Scores range from 14 to 70 with higher scores indicating greater wellbeing.

The General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) scores range from 0-12. Scores of 4 or more are indicative of a possible psychiatric disorder.