Around 10 patients a week have a limb amputated in Scotland, new figures reveal.
More than 2,500 patients have been forced to have legs, toes, fingers and arms removed on the NHS since 2014.
The Scottish Tories said the figures showed the country faces a growing diabetes and obesity crisis.
The party’s public health spokeswoman Annie Wells said it was now “well-established that obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing our NHS”.
She said: “Of course, there are a number of reasons people can develop diabetes, but it’s also accepted that rising obesity levels will increase the rates of the illness.
“The fact hundreds of people each year are having to go through the trauma of limb amputation shows just how serious a problem this is.
“We need to see all agencies working together to ensure the vital health education messages are getting through, especially to children, and that personal responsibility is brought front and centre.
“If this doesn’t happen, our NHS is going to struggle even more severely in future, and lives will be badly limited in the process.”
The latest statistics were obtained by the Scottish Tories through Freedom of Information laws.
They show there were 2578 limb amputations in the past five years.
That includes 661 patients in 2016, and a further 579 last year.
In the first nine months of this year, there were 350 amputations recorded, though that figure is expected to be higher given not all health boards have processed this year’s information.
Scotland’s largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, recorded 754 amputations in the last five years – including 370 toes and 354 legs.
NHS Grampian carried out the second most procedures with 463 since 2014.
The number of diabetics in the UK is expected to surge over the coming decades, with many experts blaming rising levels of obesity.
Charities have repeatedly called for action to tackle childhood obesity in a bid to reduce risks later in life.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We support a number of initiatives that improve the awareness of diabetic foot care, reduce the number of people developing avoidable ulcers and prevent the risk of limb amputation.
“One of these initiatives, CPR for feet, provides education programmes for staff and puts a greater emphasis on preventative care by campaigning to reduce the occurrence of new diabetic foot ulcers developing in hospital.
“Earlier this year, we published our delivery plan to create a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.
“As part of this plan we will invest an additional £42 million over five years to give people with, or at risk of, type 2 diabetes support and better access to effective weight management services.
“We’re also consulting on restricting the in-store promotion and marketing of food that is high in fat, sugar or salt but with little or no nutritional benefit to tackle our nation’s damaging relationship with junk food.”
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