A tax on sugar and regulations to reduce portion sizes are among a raft of proposals being put to the Scottish Government to tackle the country’s growing “obesity crisis”.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said there is no single “silver-bullet” solution to the problem as it called for “radical change” to address the issue.
It warned current trends mean Scotland could see adult obesity levels at 40% in just 15 years’ time.
FSS chair Ross Finnie said: “There can be few in any doubt now as to the gravity of the health time-bomb related to poor diet and obesity facing our nation.
“Individual responsibility around food choices, exercise and activity levels remain important, but this cannot be left to individuals alone.”
The Aberdeen-based FSS was established less than a year ago and since then has been considering a range of measures to help improve the Scottish diet.
It has produced 18 recommendations over 11 areas, which – following approval from its board – will now be taken to Scottish ministers for consideration.
One of the key recommendations is for government and FSS officials to “actively consider how a sugar tax may be introduced and at what rate”.
Another suggests the food and drink industry be given 12 months to come up with an “alternative acceptable solution to a sugar tax to reduce sugar purchase from current levels”.
Other recommendations are for work to be carried out to look at how regulation could rebalance promotions in favour of healthier food and drink.
The paper also suggests the FSS “commissions further work to explore the potential for regulation in relation to retail and out of home portion size”.
Figures released by the FSS show that, despite reductions in the purchasing of soft drinks containing sugar – down by 21% since 2010 – total sugar purchasing in Scotland has not changed.
From 2010-2015, the total calories purchased have not reduced at a population level, statistics show.
FSS chief executive Geoff Ogle said: “We’re very aware there is no single silver-bullet solution to reducing our obesity and overweight problem, and indeed these problems are not solely diet-related as exercise and being more active plays a vital role too.
“But we do believe that the measures we are proposing are vital pieces of the jigsaw.
“We’ve been missing the Scottish dietary goals for the last 15 years, despite all the good work that’s been done, so we believe that radical change is needed.
“Fifteen years from now we need to be able to look back and be able to say this was the point where we started to turn round the current trend: a trend which could see Scotland with adult obesity levels at 40% by 2030 unfortunately, it’s that stark.”
Lorraine Tulloch, from Obesity Action Scotland, said: “The steps that the FSS board have agreed today have significantly shifted the debate on regulation and taxation of unhealthy food to when and how it should happen.”