New Year diets doomed by snacking

Despite the very best of intentions, a stocking full of fitness DVD’s and a list of New Year’s resolutions, our diets are doomed to fail because of our snacking habits, according to new research

For most of us, January marks the start of the diet season, but new research suggests our proposed healthy eating plans are flawed by an inability to stop snacking.

It is revealed that one in seven British women will consume a total of five or more sugary and salty snacks throughout a single day and an average of 1,092 high-fat or high-sugar treats over the coming year.

The study, commissioned by bread manufacturer Hovis, suggests that our love of snacks is detrimental to our dieting motivation, with the average woman indulging in 129 packets of crisps, 127 chocolate bars, 77 cakes and 133 biscuits a year.

More than half of the 2,000 women interviewed admitted to eating unhealthy treats at least two or three times a day, while a further 48% blamed mid-morning hunger pangs for that extra biscuit.

In conjunction with the survey, Hovis have launched their Stop Snacking app on Facebook, which aims to encourage women to conquer their bad snacking habits by offering tips and motivational advice.

The key to reducing snacking is to have a wholesome breakfast say the breadmakers behind the research. Of the 2,000 women surveyed, 64% said that they felt fuller for longer swapped their regular breakfast for wholemeal bread.

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