Many people across Scotland understand how to adopt a healthier lifestyle but do not make the necessary changes to their behaviour, according to a new NHS Health Scotland report.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Motivations to Health highlights an ongoing gap between how people perceive their own lifestyle and how healthy they actually are.

The report uses the findings from a section of the 2012 Scottish Health Survey and includes health topics such as alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet.

More than half (52 per cent) of those questioned felt they were physically active enough to remain healthy, although only 39 per cent actually met current recommendations.

Meanwhile, 41 per cent described themselves as a "very light or occasional drinker" and 21 per cent as a "light but regular drinker" despite exceeding the recommended limits.

NHS Health Scotland director of public health science Dr Laurence Gruer said: "These findings show that a lot of people seem to know what they should do to stay healthy but far fewer are actually making the necessary changes in their daily lives."

Louise Flanagan, public health information manager at NHS Health Scotland, added: "These findings show that simply knowing how we should behave is unlikely to be enough to prompt most of us to make healthier choices."

Details: www.healthscotland.com

Image: Jakub Cejpek/shutterstock.com