Fears Scotland's 'sick man of Europe' tag won't shift as four in five turn to 'harmful' lockdown habits

And in spite of a rise in online fitness classes and government encouragement to get outside to exercise, over one in four of Scots said they had actually exercised less than before lockdown began.

It comes as the First Minister said a "route map" will be published on Thursday for the path out of lockdown in Scotland, saying if progress against the virus continues, people might be able to meet up with someone from another household, visit garden centres and participate in some sports.

The analysis does not bode well for Scotland, which already has the highest rates of obesity in Europe and some of the highest rates of heart disease, diabetes, alcohol consumption and smoking in Europe – all linked to an increased mortality risk from Covid-19.

The study said that a combination of the habits identified will, over time, lead to long-term implications for individual health, earning lockdown another place in the list of risks to our health.

Tam Fry, patron of the Child Growth Foundation and chairman of the National Obesity Forum warned that the results will mean the nation cannot shake its 'sick man of Europe'. It was gained on account of its higher mortality rates compared with other western European countries.

He said: "Piling on the calories makes the effort of exercising less likely: the super-fit crowd offering online classes are catering more for those unable to go to the gym than the overweight who really need them. The war on fat will make a difference only in the years to come.

"Up till then - and even past that date - it is probable that Scotland will still be called the 'the sick man of Europe'. " In November, health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said Scotland’s label of the 'sick man of Europe' had become unwarranted saying the country has made strides to improve public health. But she conceded more had to be done to improve health in the most deprived areas but said the burden should not fall solely on the health service.

Professor Maureen Baker, the Motherwell-born former chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners and chief medical officer of the self-care health app and website Your.MD which commissioned the survey said “It is a real concern that a greater proportion of Scottish respondents to this survey report picking up 'bad health habits' during lockdown."

Prof Baker, who received a CBE in the 2004 New Year Honours for services to medicine added:"It is a lot easier, for instance, to start (or resume) smoking than it is to stop. Smoking can have major long term consequences in terms of overall health, significantly increasing the risk of developing life threatening conditions.

"This is a stressful time for everyone and it is particularly easy to fall back on snacking as so many people are having to stay at home. "But we are also discovering that obesity is a risk factor for more severe illness with Covid-19, so eating patterns that lead to people gaining weight is really bad news, both in the short term with Covid19 and for general health in the longer term."

The analysis which formed part of a UK-wide online poll of 2,000 people between April 24 and 27 found that one in three Scots (36%) have started to eat more unhealthily and snack more since lockdown - a bigger proportion that rest of the UK (33%).

Nearly one in seven people living in Scotland claim to have started drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week - around two bottles of wine - during lockdown. Scots are most likely to have started smoking or vaping during lockdown (16%) compared to the UK as a whole (9%).

And 29% of people living in Scotland claimed they had started exercising less than before lockdown began. This peaks in London, where 39% are exercising less than before lockdown began.

Across Great Britain, ONS data which looked at ‘Coronavirus and the Impacts on Great Britain’ reveals that 42% of people are unable to exercise as normal, due to the implications of the virus.

Dr Jane Morris, consultant psychiatrist at the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: “What we are seeing here is the very close interaction between mental and physical health and as psychiatrists. We routinely see how people resort to comfort eating or drinking as ways to self-medicate at times of stress.

“Clinical guidelines advise depressed and anxious people to use exercise as a first line treatment but when lockdown – or juggling the demands of childcare and working from home - this makes this difficult and we may turn to alcohol, nicotine or sugary foods. This feels comforting short term but actually makes us more irritable, snappy and insomniac in the medium and longer term, setting up a vicious cycle.

“It's essential that we address these difficulties with a whole person or even a whole community approach and be understanding and gentle with ourselves and each other. It won't work to wag our fingers and blame people for unhealthy habits. We have to sympathise with the stress and support each other to adopt healthier more effective ways to cope.”

The survey also found Scots are more likely to have started staying up later than people in the UK in total, with 39% in Scotland having reported to do so compared to 34% in the Uk in total.

BMA Scotland council member and public health consultant Dr Iain Kennedy said: “These are difficult and unprecedented times for us all, therefore it remains vitally important to be mindful of your health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally. Smoking can put you at higher risk of contracting Covid-19 so there really is no better time than now to consider giving it up completely.

"You should do what you can to eat as healthily as possible, drink in moderation and try to exercise regularly – and try to continue that even as we work our way back towards a more normal way of daily life. Remember your NHS is still here for you for non-COVID related concerns, so if you have any worries please don’t hesitate to seek medical advice.”

Former British cycling champion turned behavioural economist Denise Hampson warned it will take some time to re-engage with healthier routines as the lockdown is eased.

“Now that our normal lives are suspended, so are the cues we used to be exposed to and so our habits will have changed too. We will have replaced them with new ones based around the routine of our lockdown lives," she said.

“We are also facing an extreme period of collective anxiety. Nothing we used to do can be taken for granted anymore and we are less clear on what the future holds. This leads to soothing behaviour, to make us feel better, so it’s no surprise we are drinking more alcohol, consuming more social media, smoking and snacking unhealthily.

“What’s most interesting is how aware we seem to be of our wellbeing during lockdown and the impact it has had on our behaviour.

“Despite what the data suggests, we don’t assume that people have a conscious desire to keep their unhealthy habits going post-lockdown. It’s more likely that most of us expect to be able to just shake off our new lockdown habits quite easily. Like getting back to normality after the Christmas break.

“Lockdown happened very fast, so all our old routines were fractured and disrupted all at once. It’s easy to think we’ll just snap back to the way we used to be, but getting out of lockdown is likely to be a much slower process, so we’ll be more likely to carry these new habits with us for some time, and they’ll take a bit of effort to shake off.”

A Scottish Government spokesmansaid: “We fully understand that the current coronavirus restrictions, advising everyone to stay at home, will be difficult for people, especially when it comes to keeping physically active on a daily basis.

“But the official advice is that everyone should take regular exercise, and many people are making healthy choices, such as cycling more, and we want to help them sustain this into the future.”

“There is some excellent advice offered on looking after yourself and getting through these uncertain times, within our ‘Clear Your Head’ campaign, launched by the First Minister on 21 April.”