PEOPLE in Paisley are among the least active in Scotland, a new report has found.

One in five Buddies do not take part in regular exercise, with women less likely than men to be involved in sport.

The report from the Scottish Government’s Health and Sport Committee was discussed at Holyrood this week.

MSPs are anxious to discover if the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have had a positive effect on the number of Scots involved in sport.

A study has revealed that an equal number of boys and girls under the age of 16 take part in regular sporting activities.

However, that balance changes dramatically for those aged up to 64, with men more likely to be active.

Among the reasons given by people for dodging sport were lack of time, family commitments and feeling self-conscious.

The Scottish Conservatives have urged the government to take action to tackle the problem.

Brian Whittle, the party’s spokesman on sport, said: “This report reveals the SNP’s inability to promote the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.

“It’s hugely important to participate in regular activity and it’s known to come hand in hand with living a healthy and happy life.

“It’s sad that the SNP has failed to make the most of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games potential to make Scotland a healthy and active nation for years to come.”

However, the Scottish Government has defended its efforts to encourage more people across Paisley and elsewhere to get active.

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Public Health and Sport, said: “We welcome this useful report and will consider its findings carefully.

“This government remains committed to helping Scotland become more physically active.

“There is much work already under way to close inequality gaps in physical activity participation. We are funding projects that focus on some of these hard-to-reach groups where activity levels are lowest.

“This includes the Legacy 2014 Physical Activity Fund, which has seen £800,000 invested in projects targeted in just this way.

“Along with sportscotland, we have delivered more than 150 community sports hubs across all local authority areas and will now aim to deliver a total of 200 by 2020.

“Our investment in school sport has seen an increase in children doing two hours or periods of PE per week from less than 10 per cent in 2004/5 to 98 per cent in 2016.”