A damning picture of Scottish attitudes to playing sport is revealed in an official report.

It shows the number of adults who regularly take part in some form of sport is falling.

Targets for youngsters' participation are not likely to be met and the provision of sporting facilities is "fragmented".

The most positive finding is that Scottish athletes' performance in international events has exceeded targets, according to Audit Scotland, which said that the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow provides an opportunity to further promote sporting activity.

However, despite £558m of public money being invested in sport annually, the public spending watchdog said that many facilities are still not up to acceptable standards and there is no national strategy for the £110m needed each year to upgrade existing facilities.

"More needs to be done to link the national strategy for sport to sports investment across Scotland," said Robert Black, Auditor General for Scotland. "Many sports facilities still need improvement to ensure they are attractive."

The report, A Performance Overview of Sport in Scotland, said that the two priorities for national funding have been increasing participation in sport and developing Scotland's elite athletes. Progress on the latter has been made, with some 283 Scots winning medals in international competitions by 2007, exceeding the target of 250.

However, at a time when obesity rates have risen, participation in sport is falling among adults and children, particularly in the west of Scotland. Fewer than half (49%) of adults in Scotland participated in sport at least once a week in 2001, but by 2006 the proportion had dropped to 42%, far lower than the target of 60% by 2020. In 2005, only 69% of 13 to 17-year-olds participated in sport more than once a week outside the school curriculum, a drop from 77% in 2001 and well below the target of 85% by 2007.

The report also broke down participation by council area, based on figures from 2004. Glasgow was at the bottom of the table, with only 34% of people participating in sport at least once a week. Moray topped the league at 65%.

Audit Scotland said that the availability of good sports facilities had an "important influence" on encouraging people to take part in sport.

Although councils had invested "significant resources" to upgrade facilities and provide new swimming pools, sports halls and outdoor pitches, it said that many existing facilities still need "substantial upgrading".

A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said participation was a "top priority" and claimed there were "high numbers of people who participate in active leisure that would not be picked up in Audit Scotland's findings".

He added: "Local authorities are more concerned with and fully committed to promoting healthy lifestyles rather than narrow definitions of sport which do not pick up activities such as those outwith facilities or organised events."

Sport Minister Stewart Maxwell said: "It is incumbent upon us all, national and local government, to offer more choices and more chances for people to take part in sport across Scotland, underpinned by facilities that are fit for purpose.

"We have a clearly defined national strategy for sport, Reaching Higher, and the historic concordat with Cosla provides an unparalleled opportunity for local authorities to embed sport development within their wider statutory responsibilities."