The number of people with arthritis is set to soar with predictions that 1,500,000 Scots will be living with the condition by 2030.

A report by the charity Arthritis Care puts the rise down to an ageing population and growing obesity problem.

The report, OANation 2012, said that one in five Scots who are over 50 and overweight will be affected by osteoarthritis, which can cause chronic pain and fatigue.

More than half of sufferers will be forced to give up walking as it is too painful, the charity added.

There are currently around 750,000 Scots with arthritis, and the charity has warned that the predicted rise will place a further strain on the NHS.

Judith Brodie, CEO of Arthritis Care, said: "OANation 2012 clearly demonstrates that the individual, economic and societal burden of OA is already enormous, but with an ageing and increasingly obese population the future is looking bleak.

"We need policy-makers and professionals to take the condition seriously; to implement robust and meaningful strategies to address how OA is treated and managed across the UK and to improve health services."

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