SCOTLAND is making people fat and ministers should be ready to take “politically unpopular” steps to tackle the problem, according to a cross-party committee of MSPs.

Holyrood’s Health and Sport Committee said there was an “obesogenic environment in Scotland”, with unhealthy food “more available and more promoted than in other countries”.

More complex social factors, such as poverty narrowing people’s diet choices, were also part of the problem and contributed to the “high obesity levels in Scotland”, it said.

The committee, which is holding a short inquiry into obesity, said Scotland had “the worst weight outcomes” of all the UK nations and among the worst in developed nations.

In 2015, two-thirds of adults were overweight, with 29 per cent judged to be obese.

Among children, 28 per cent were at risk of being overweight and 15 per cent at risk of obesity.

Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and depression, and cuts life expectancy by an average of three years, or eight to ten years for severe obesity.

Causes include the widespread availability of cheap foods high in fat, sugar and salt; 40 per cent of adults not getting enough exercise; poverty; and a snacking “culture”.

The MSPs said steps were needed to get more people exercising and eating more healthily.

They also suggested "more active travel” could be promoted through politically unpopular measures such as higher car parking charges and restricting car access in towns.

There was also scope to change the way junk food was pushed in supermarkets, such as curbing multipacks and discounts, and reducing the prominence of displays.

They said it was “staggering” that around 40 per cent of food bought in the UK was on promotion - the highest rate in Europe - and “the vast majority of price promoted food was junk food”.

In a letter to Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell, the committee said there was a need for a joined up policy approach linking health with education, local government and transport.

It said more more funds should be ring-fenced to protect projects when the SNP Government introduces its new obesity strategy, and pressed Ms Campbell on whether the slashed funding for jogscotland, which helped women become more physically active, would be restored.

It said: “We support a bold approach to the new obesity strategy and would encourage you to include options that may initially be unpopular as this could result in an important step towards balancing out health inequalities in Scotland.

“We understand interventions cost money but believe preventative spend must be looked at seriously by the Scottish Government. The initial outlay would seem to be outweighed by the ultimate cost savings to the NHS, employers, and local authorities.

"All the above show there is no easy fix for tackling obesity in Scotland and a comprehensive long term, cross-portfolio approach will be required."

Neil Findlay, the Labour convener of the committee, said: "It is disappointing that whilst the Government has good policies in place to try and tackle this issue, they don’t seem to be working and there was an inconsistent approach to resourcing these policies.

“Scotland has not previously been afraid to take the initiative to tackle health related issues when other interventions have failed. This is why this Committee is asking for a bold approach to tackling obesity.

“If we don’t act now, we will be condemning future generations to a lifetime of poor health which is often driven by poverty leading to poor dietary choices.”

Ms Campbell said: "We have consistently called on the UK Government to ban junk food advertising before the 9pm watershed and we are looking at what further effective actions we can take within the powers available to us, including the use of multi-buy promotions, as well as examining a range of actions to improve diet, physical activity and education.

"We have announced our intention to set out and consult on the development of our new diet and obesity strategy this year, building on our wide range of activity to make it easier for people - including children and their families - to be more active, eat less, and eat better.

"The Scottish Government is already investing £12m over five years to this year on a range of programmes to tackle the nation's poor diet.

"We are also engaging with the food and drink industry on action to offer healthier choices, rebalance promotions, and reformulate products, with a focus on reducing calories, salt, fats and added sugar."