Due to an increasingly unhealthy food environment and a lack of access to affordable, attractive and convenient healthier foods, obesity is a serious and growing issue in Scotland. More than two-thirds of adults in Scotland are overweight or living with obesity.

Obesity is the leading cause of death in Scotland and is linked to 23% of deaths and contributing to chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Inequality is a factor in obesity too, with levels of obesity among the most deprived in Scotland higher than the least deprived.

The health costs of obesity are severe. But the economic costs of obesity are also felt across society from the individual to the Scottish government in productivity loss and increased health and social care costs – it is an urgent issue and one that unfairly impacts individuals’ quality of life and opportunities.

The seriousness of the crisis requires a compelling case to be made for bold policies and preventive spending that can garner widespread support and that requires good evidence.

Working with economic consultancy Frontier Economics, this research project modelled the cost of the current levels of childhood and adult obesity to society in Scotland, including healthcare and social care costs, loss of productivity and cost to the individual in terms of loss of quality of life.

The research also modelled how much these costs could be reduced given various reductions in obesity, in both children and adults, up to 2030 and what changes to our food environment might help us achieve them.

We also worked with the Behavioural Insights Team to look at how a selection of interventions to tackle childhood obesity could contribute to the Scottish Government's target to halve it by 2030 and determine the net social benefit and economic value of reaching that target and the impact on quality years lived by Scotland’s citizens.