THIS map shows for the first time the startling variation in obesity levels across Scotland.
Dubbed "the fat map", it pulls together data from the country's 14 health boards to reveal that Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles have the highest proportion of patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above.
This means they have been officially diagnosed as being obese, a condition that places them at risk of serious health consequences such as diabetes, heart and circulatory disease and shortened life expectancy.
BMI measures body fat based on a person's height to weight ratio. A BMI of under 20 is underweight, 20-25 is normal, 25-30 is overweight and above 30 is obese.
The map was collated by Dr Foster Research using figures from GP practices relating to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for 2006-7.
The organisation started drawing up "fat maps" in 2005 but this is the first time Scotland and Wales has been included.
The map also shows high levels of obesity in parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross. Tayside health board has Scotland's next highest percentage of obese patients, at 8.09 per cent.
The Dumfries and Galloway, Grampian and Lanarkshire health boards all fell into the medium category for obesity.
The health boards of Fife, the Forth Valley, Argyll and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, Greater Glasgow and Highland had among the lowest levels of obesity.
The fewest number of obese people were registered at doctors' surgeries in Lothian, at 5.72 per cent.
The map shows that Shetland has the most obese people in Britain according to GP records, with 15.54 per cent of patients weighing in with a BMI of 30 or above, closely followed by many parts of Wales.
The data, from GP practices across the UK, shows that more than one in ten patients registered with GPs in some parts of the country are obese.
Despite a report by the Scottish Public Health Observatory last September, which found more than 70 per cent of men and 65 per cent of women in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are the least active and either overweight or obese, health experts are divided as to why this should be.
Professor Iain Broom, of the Centre for Obesity Research and Epidemiology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, suggests the "fat map" figures under-estimate of the scale of the problem compared to other official statistics.
He said: "There is no easy answer as to why these islands have such high levels of obesity. Perhaps it is because the islands are outwith mainstream agriculture and so there is more ready-made food imported."
Colin Waine, director of the national obesity forum, suggested that obesity in communities may occur when diet requiring high calorie intake stays the same even though heavy industry, such as fishing, decreases.
A spokesman for Dr Foster Research said one explanation could be the way the data is collected, with some GPs better at reporting numbers of obese patients to health boards than others.
However, Tavish Scott, the Shetland MSP and newly elected leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, rejected the "fat map" findings.
He said: "Shetlanders are very active. We have great leisure facilities and lots of people use them all the time. I am highly sceptical about this survey. It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that Shetland is an obesity hotspot.
"Yesterday Scotland's Olympians, including Chris Hoy and Katherine Grainger, returned home to a heroes' welcome. The Scottish Government should be asking these great sporting role models to help Scotland's youngsters see the benefits of active lifestyles."
Dr Ewan Bell, NHS Consultant in Dumfries and Galloway, said: "The rates of obesity in Scotland are extremely worrying.
"It is important that people understand both the risks of obesity, and the benefits to their health of modest weight loss.
"This is why it is so important that there is a funded national intervention strategy in place for the evidence-based treatment of obesity."
The "fat map" comes after the Scottish Government announced in January that it will spend an extra £15 million directly on targeting obesity, as part of an overall package of £40 million set aside for health improvement initiatives. Obesity could cost the UK £50 billion by 2050, the Westminster government has calculated.
On Tuesday the shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, called on overweight people to face up to reality to conquer obesity and live healthily. The Tory MP said it was time to "take away the excuses" so overweight people started exercising and eating more fruit and vegetables.
Psychologists called in to help children stay healthyOVERWEIGHT and unfit children are to be given psychological help in Scotland's battle against obesity. Experts believe that mental barriers are a major part of the problem preventing youngsters from taking more exercise and eating healthily.
Now a week-long pilot project is being launched to combine psychological support with exercise and nutritional education in an attempt to change children's behaviour in the long term.
Organisers hope the scheme, being run by the Excel Sports Academy in Edinburgh, could eventually spread across Scotland.
Figures show that more than a fifth of primary one children in Scotland are overweight, including 8.5 per cent who are obese and 4.3 per cent severely obese.
By the age of 12, over a third are overweight, including almost 20 per cent who are obese.
Jennifer Larkin, a performance psychologist taking part in the project, said changing mental attitudes towards exercise and diet was important to ensure that children changed their behaviour in the long term.
"It is about looking at the underlying root cause of the problem and about empowering children to make positive changes," she said.
Ben Brown, the director of Excel, said the course, which will run during the October half-term week, is aimed to help children change their habits, with parents invited to take part in the last session of each day so lessons could be taken home.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "
We are making tackling obesity, particularly in early life, a high priority and we have set a new national target to reduce the rate of increase in the proportion of children out with the healthy weight range by 2018."
The full article contains 1059 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
