A new study has found that one third of Brits are currently on a diet, and a quarter of slimmers are opting to follow a low sugar regime.
The survey, conducted by Glotechrepairs.co.uk, also found that cutting out carbs is the second most popular food plan in the UK, with a fifth of dieters selecting a low carb or no carb diet, despite recent claims that pasta could actually aid weight loss.
The figures reveal that an estimated 3.7 million Brits follow a low carb diet and this dietary option is more popular with men who are trying to lose weight.
The new research revealed that women are much more likely to try uncommon diet techniques with over a third revealing that they follow less common diets – such as the black coffee diet and Juice Plus.
A study released in December 2015 by the UCL Research Department of Epidemiology & Public Health found that two thirds of Brits were overweight with a quarter of those being either obese or morbidly obese.
The Glotech survey also asked people why they are dieting and uncovered that the most popular reason to be on a diet is to avoid health related problems in the future (46%), followed by to make yourself more attractive (41%).
In terms of gender, men are most likely to diet to avoid health complications (47%), while almost half of women (48%) follow a food regime to make themselves more attractive.
Almost a quarter of those surveyed followed a particular diet plan to stop an existing medical condition from getting worse.
On average, those surveyed admitted to wanting to be a stone lighter than their current weight, however less than 10% of respondents stated that they intend to make long term changes to their eating habits.
British Dietetic Association spokeswoman, Anna Daniels said: “Fad diets invariably fail as they are often restrictive and don’t take into account individual lifestyle factors.
“For best long term results, focus on making smaller modifications to your current diet over a period time that you then can stick to.”
In terms of sticking to our food plans, the average Brit adhered to their diet of choice for an average of just four months.
Surprisingly, half of the dieters admitted they didn’t count calories and men were less likely to count calories than women
Mikael Anderson from Glotechrepairs.co.uk said, “It’s great that more and more Brits are taking steps to combat obesity however it’s worrying to see that so many efforts are being wasted with ineffective methods, such as not counting calories.”
Chocolate was voted the most difficult food to give up (40%), followed by cheese (27%), bread (26%), alcohol (24%) and cake (21%).
