LIFETIME BODY WEIGHT WILL YO-YO 26 STONE; THAT'S 10 SHOPPING BAGS OF FAT!
Women will put on a staggering 15.5 stone in their lifetimes, according to new research.
But don't worry, dieting means the average British woman will also lose 10 stone.
Yo-yo dieting means that in total, women's weight will fluctuate almost 26 stone in their lifetime, the research by leading home health monitors brand Tanita revealed.
The research highlights that we are a nation obsessed with dieting and how we look, yet we progressively gain weight.
Tanita's Head of European marketing, Kim Ramessa said: "We were stunned by the variation in weight but especially interested in what this means in terms of actual body fat. 26 stone in body weight is the equivalent of over 266 lbs of fat - that's more than 241 packs of lard - or more than 10 shopping bags of actual body fat in a lifetime!"
The research also revealed that 78 per cent of women worry about their weight and for some; it can take over their lives with more than 20 per cent saying it is constantly on their mind.
Almost 90 per cent of folk keep tabs on their weight by stepping onto the scales and 10 per cent of those do so at least once a day.
Yet a staggering 65% of women think that they are overweight and only 16 per cent are completely happy with their appearance.
Kim continued: "It's so important to measure body fat as it's now well recognised amongst health care professionals and research scientists that weight - or even BMI does not necessarily give a clear indication of good health or reflect your progress if you are dieting or exercising regularly. Losing weight can actually make you fatter and increasing your exercise programme can make you heavier! Losing fat and gaining muscle is the best way to maintain weight loss and prevent the effects of yo-yo dieting."
Looking like hi-tech bathroom scales, Tanita has launched new body fat and body composition monitors that can be found in leading department stores such as John Lewis, Bentalls and Selfridges in addition to Boots and Argos. For information see: www.tanita.co.uk
Only one third of women in the research claimed to regularly exercise to keep their weight down but it is proven that if you are dieting without exercise it is likely that the weight loss is from water and muscle - not fat. If you are exercising and gaining weight, you may well be losing body fat but gaining muscle tissue which is denser and heavier than fat.
On a lighter note and perhaps not surprisingly though, the survey also revealed that Brits are at their heaviest around Christmas - December and January - and slim down for the summer months with one in five saying they are lightest during July!
The research also showed that:
- Clothes not fitting is the biggest reason Brits try to lose weight, followed by going on holiday and someone making a spiteful comment.
- Women aren't the only ones who diet as the average British bloke will lose just over seven stone in his lifetime but gain 12.7 stone
- Eight per cent of women will try every diet going in an attempt to keep the weight down and 40 per cent admit their weight frequently yo-yo's.
- More than 10% of women admit to have tried more than 10 different types of diet
- Only one in ten of the 2106 women polled think they are lighter now than when they were 18-years-old
- 65% of women think that they are overweight, compared to 48% of men
- 78 per cent of women worry about their weight - 60% of men
- Of those women, two thirds worry they are overweight while four per cent think they are underweight.
- Both men and women said they put on the most weight between the ages of 20-25.
Notes to Editors:
- The survey was carried out with 2106 women, (method & date)
- The average woman will lose 10 stone - around 2.4lbs a year and gain 15.5 stone - or 3.5lbs.
- Body fat calculated as 75% of weight - an average proven in numerous scientific research papers
- Tanita Body Fat monitors use BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis) by sending a low, safe signal through the body. The signal passes freely through fluids in muscle tissue but meets resistance through fat tissue. This resistance is measured by your Tanita Body Fat Monitor and set against gender, height and weight to give highly accurate personalised readings. This provides the key to getting a successful healthy balance right. Tanita invented the world's first stand-on body fat monitor in 1992 and as a global brand leader manufacturing the world's best selling Body Fat Monitor range, has developed a new generation of 'Body Composition Monitors' that make it even easier to achieve your goals in the long term by adding another dimension to health monitoring. Using Advanced Dual frequency technology, these monitors give body fat percentage readings in addition to more personalised information including daily calorie intake, muscle mass and body water percentage.
