Aussies fail to keep to diets

Article from: AAP
November 13, 2006 07:11am

A STUDY has found that 97 per cent of the population has tried to change their diets but most inevitably lapse back into their old and unhealthy eating habits.

The Australian Psychological Society (APS), which surveyed more than 1200 people across Australia, found 97 per cent of the people it interviewed had tried to improve their health by changing their diets.

Almost all believed they achieved some measure of success, but about 40 per cent said they had lapsed after making the change, and another 22 per cent said their new regime lasted only weeks or a few months.

APS president Amanda Gordon says the majority of people who commit themselves to a weight-loss regime fail because they lack the necessary skills and support.

"Many people rush out and follow the latest fad diet or exercise craze but don't spend time thinking about the support mechanisms to keep up the changes," Ms Gordon said.

"Even people with strong willpower are bound to fail without some sort of support, whether that be from family, friends or professionals.

"However, reaching out to friends and family won't solve problems."

Ms Gordon said Australians needed to shift their thinking from "fat tax" and "fad diets" to focus on equipping people with the skills needed to change their behaviour in the long term.

"You really need all the help you can get until you reach a point where the habits just become a way of life," she said.

"It is not a question of what diet a person follows, but whether they stick to it." The society's online survey was designed to provide an understanding of how and why people undertake changes to their eating or physical activity regimes.

The results were released to coincide with Psychology Week, which began yesterday.

Two-thirds of those surveyed relied on their willpower to change their habits, but that strategy reduced the chance of changing diets and improving physical fitness, Ms Gordon said.

The survey found 26 per cent of people stuck to changes to their eating habits for more than six months, while 39 per cent of those surveyed said they had failed to stick to their resolutions.

More than one fifth, or 22 per cent, said it took only weeks until they lapsed back into their old habits.

Seventy-three per cent of people said they had tried to increase their physical activity.

Thirty-three per cent said they maintained the changes for more than six months, while 30 per cent said they had made changes, but did not always stick to them.

Twenty per cent said the increased exercise had only lasted a matter of weeks or a few months.

Ms Gordon said emotional and psychological issues related to self-esteem needed to be approached to successfully treat weight problems.

"On a practical level it's important for people who are trying to make changes to recognise their individual motivations and behaviour so that they can implement change strategies that are going to work best for them," she said.

The danger period occurred about two months into a new regime, when people felt they were doing well and let their support systems slip.


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Hmm... sounds so real eh....