72% of women 'buy clothes too small'

New research reveals over £5 billion worth of clothes left abandoned in British wardrobes as our waists expand

British women own more than £250 worth of clothes they can't fit into, according to a new study published this week.

The research, conducted by Weight Watchers, reveals 72% of women own clothes they can't fit in to, with one in five admitting this is at least half of everything they own. In total, there are more than £5 billion worth of clothes left redundant in wardrobes across the country.

And that's not all: 34% of women admit to deliberately buying clothes a size too small to inspire them to lose weight. But buying too-tight clothes may not be the best way of motivating yourself.

‘Having clothes that are too small for us could end up having the adverse effect, so rather than encouraging us to lose weight, there's a danger we feel like a failure because we can't fit in to so many clothes,' says Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos. ‘This can result in comfort eating and becomes a vicious circle that's hard to break.' And although 77% of women surveyed want to drop a dress size by Christmas, 63% don't know how much weight they need to lose or how long it will take. Zoe Hellman, Weight Watchers UK Company Dietitian says: ‘Having one smaller item of clothing to aim to fit in to is a great target but women are being unrealistic about the time it takes to lose weight, which inevitably leads to them losing motivation and giving up. Women should really be leaving around 8 weeks to drop a dress size so now is a great time to start a Christmas weight loss plan.'

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