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Nearly half of Britons
believe they are overweight, with northerners more concerned
about weight loss than those in the south, a survey revealed
today.
Singletons are least likely to be paranoid about their size
(29%), while 45% of couples are convinced wedded bliss or
living together caused them to pile on the weight. People
who eat meals with friends and family also thought they had
a better chance of keeping the weight off, rather than
munching great banquets alone.
Two complementary studies were commissioned by Herbalife
a global provider of weight loss/management products.
One quizzed 5,000 adults in Europe and the US and the other
surveyed 1,000 people in the UK. While 42% of Britons
believe they are currently overweight, a whopping 62% of
Europeans think they are too heavy. The north-south divide
continues – 47% of northerners felt overweight or obese and
20% expected to be so in five years’ time, compared to 37%
and 16% of southerners respectively. Attitudes towards
children ran along similar lines, with 15% of northerners
thinking their child was overweight, compared to 9% of those
in the south. Despite concerns, Britons were considered the
most optimistic in Europe, with only 17% believing they
would be overweight in five years compared to 36% of
Europeans. One in 10 attributed weight gain to life-changing
events such as getting married. Americans were even more
concerned about their size, with 74% believing they were
overweight compared to 62% of Europeans. More than a quarter
(26%) of those State-side thought they were more than 20%
over the ideal weight compared to 14% of Europeans. As for
their children, 16% of Americans considered their offspring
overweight compared to 12% of Europeans.
Dr David Heber, of the Centre for Human Nutrition at
the University of California in Los Angeles, and chairman of
Herbalife’s Scientific Advisory Board, said: “Regardless of
how respondents in each country approach
diet and exercise, most report themselves to be
overweight right now.
“It also appears that Europeans, including Britons, are
following the US lead in becoming heavier and in believing
themselves to be overweight.” He went on: “One reason for
universal weight gain is the migration away from shared
meals – most of the survey respondents report eating meals
less frequently with others – and we know that eating alone
can be a factor in weight gain. “A root cause of eating
alone is the busier lifestyles we all now lead which have
led to drastic changes in our eating habits.”
When it came to attitudes towards food, those in the US
blamed larger portions while Europeans attributed weight
gain to unhealthy food. In the UK, a balanced diet and
exercise were seen as key to
weight loss, whereas snacking and laziness were
described as the biggest hurdles. Europeans were found to
snack less after dinner than their American counterparts,
while people in the US were less likely to eat breakfast.
The survey also found Americans stuck more rigidly to
prescribed diets such as Atkins and were more
carbohydrate-focused than Europeans. Stress was regularly
blamed for piling on the pounds, with 16% of Britons
predicting weight gain over the next five years would be
caused by stress.
The larger international study was conducted by AC Nielsen,
a marketing information company, for the Herbalife
Nutritional Trends Index and looked at causes and trends
of obesity as well at attitudes to food, exercise and weight
loss.
It was backed up by the market information group Taylor
Nelson’s Omnibus study carried out in Britain.
By:
Caroline Gammell, PA News
Herbalife Diet Information
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