Weight for it: Brits' New Year's resolution to lose 23 million stone in 2010
04 Jan 2010
Drinkaware research also reveals 6.7 million aim to drink less in 2010
Brits are aiming to lose over 23 million stone in 2010, with 47% of people stipulating ‘losing weight’ as a key New Year’s resolution for 2010 and one in five (21%) aiming to lose more than two stone over the year. The research into 2010 pledges, conducted for alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware* as part of its online ‘Drink Less Be More’ campaign which encourages people to try to keep their New Year resolutions, also found that 6.7 million people will set a pledge to drink less in the New Year, with over four million adults intending to give up alcohol completely during January.
The staggering weight loss figure, which takes into account an average target of 15.11lbs per person is the equivalent of 375 full weight jumbo jets (at 400 tonnes each), or 27 million Christmas turkeys (at around 15 lbs each)**. However, for all the good intentions, it seems Brits struggle to keep up the good work – only 11% are confident of keeping their resolutions throughout the year, with 43% of Brits feeling we won’t keep our 2010 pledges and nearly one in five (19%) resigned to giving up on all their resolutions before the end of the first week of the year.
In response, the charity is modifying its popular unit calculator throughout the month as part of its New Year ‘Drink Less Be More’ campaign, which aims to help people keep their New Year’s resolutions longer than just a few days. Housed on the Drinkaware website homepage*** at www.drinkaware.co.uk, the calculator allows people to enter what they would usually drink in a 24 hour period. Users are then shown the impact of their drinking on their health and fitness, including how their drinking equates to calories and food, as well as how much exercise would be needed to burn off the calories contained in drinks. They can also sign up to a series of motivational emails written by fitness and nutrition experts as well as quirky tips to help keep their resolutions on track.
The Drinkaware research found that one in four of those who give up alcohol in January do so because they feel they have consumed too much over Christmas (25%), with 45% wanting to ditch drink for health reasons and nearly half (47%) giving up alcohol to lose weight.
Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says: “Millions of adults want to lose weight in the New Year and cutting back on alcohol can be a really effective way of shedding the pounds and getting the most out of life at the same time. People can be quite shocked when they discover the calorie content of their favourite tipple, so this is a really useful way of getting us all to think about how much we’re drinking.
“Even if it’s just for a short space of time, most of us make resolutions and start a new year with intentions to change for the better. But simply making one resolution – to drink less in 2010 - could actually make your other new year wishes come true. Drinking less can not only make it easier to reach your goals, it can also help you avoid some of the long term health issues associated with drinking too much.”
According to the Drinkaware research, the 10 most popular resolutions that Brits will set for 2010 are:
Lose weight – 48%
Get fit – 29%
Live life to the full – 22%
Get out of debt – 18%
Have more sex – 15%
See family/friends more – 14%
Drink less alcohol – 14%
Change job – 12%
Give up chocolate/sweets – 11%
Quit smoking – 10%
For more information on the ‘Drink Less Be More’ campaign and to sign up for motivational emails throughout January, visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
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For further information, including interviews with spokespeople, please contact:
Laura Bryce at Frank PR – 020 7693 6999/07890329191, drinkaware@frankpr.it , laurabryce@frankpr.it
Siobhan McCann at Drinkaware – 020 7307 7465 or 07827 971744, smccann@drinkaware.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
• UK-wide figures calculated extrapolating survey findings to the wider population of adults of drinking age. OnePoll interviewed a random sample of 2000 adults aged 18+ in GB from its online panel between 18th-21th December 2009. Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
** Based on a 747-400 takeoff weight of 910,000 lbs/approximately 400 tonnes and average Christmas turkey weight of 12lbs
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747family/pf/pf_400back.html
http://www.britishturkey.co.uk/turkey-bytes/turkey-history.shtml
***The new-look unit calculator will be a focal point of the Drinkaware home page ‘takeover’ for January and will also appear as an interactive online advert on third party-sites such as WeightWatchers and MSN throughout the month.
• Drinkaware provides consumers with information to make informed decisions about the effects of alcohol on their lives and lifestyles. Our public education programmes, grants, expert information, and resources help create awareness and effect positive change. An independent charity established in 2007, Drinkaware works alongside the medical profession, the alcohol industry and government to achieve its goals. For further information visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
• Drinkaware advises men to stay within the recommended guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol per day (equivalent of a pint and a half of lager) and women to stay within 2-3 units per day (equivalent of a 175ml glass of wine).
- Page last updated by
- Root User, 19 Apr 2010.
