Half of women diet for Christmas parties

September 23, 2010

More than half of women in the UK have admitted to dieting in the run up to Christmas, in order to look their best at the office Christmas parties.

Research by fashion trend website, MyCelebrityFashion.co.uk, shows that 53 per cent of women try to shed weight before the festive season – with nearly a quarter of those women admitting to starting as early as August and September.

The numbers showed that women were more interested in taking pre-emptive action against the seasonal food binges, than losing weight afterwards: just 32 per cent said they would start dieting in the New Year.

MyCelebrityFashion's marketing director, Andy Barr, said the numbers were somewhat unexpected. "It was surprising to see that more women go on a diet before Christmas than after, especially given January’s reputation as the month for well-intentioned dieting resolutions," he said.

"However, it seems that the majority who diet before the holidays do so in order to make room for the weight they believe they will inevitably put on; effectively allowing themselves to maintain their usual weight post-Christmas binge."

The poll sought the opinions of 1,459 women aged 18-35 from across the UK.