The death of fad diets

The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets may be one of 2008’s hotly anticipated book releases, but it seems it’s our obsession with A-listers rather than their fad diets that is piquing our interest, as the majority of Brits’ diet and fitness plans for 2008 are long-term lifestyle changes rather than short-term fixes.

Nearly two thirds of Brits (62 per cent) planned to embark on a new diet or fitness regime at the start of the year, reveals research by PruHealth, the innovative private medical insurer,* but over a third (35 per cent) of these dieters see it as an ongoing, permanent lifestyle change rather than an attempt to quickly lose those post-Christmas pounds.

People expect their January health kicks to last for, on average, 78 days – therefore we can expect 18 March to be the day most people fall off the health wagon, suggesting the celebrity-inspired quick-fix ‘fads’, such as the maple syrup, Atkins and cabbage soup diets, are losing popularity.

When it comes to sticking to our resolutions, resisting the lure of sugary snacks is the biggest challenge for sweet-toothed dieters, with a quarter (25 per cent) rating this as the hardest hurdle to overcome. By contrast, nine per cent of people found going to the gym or participating in sports activities their biggest challenge, suggesting more people are tempted off course by their favourite foods rather than struggling with a fitness plan.

Katie Roswell, Marketing Director, PruHealth, said: “It’s encouraging to see a common move towards a long-term healthy start to 2008, rather than people opting for more short-term fixes, such as unhealthy, fad diet plans. However, it’s also clear how important it is to maintain momentum and motivation to stick to a permanent lifestyle change.

“We believe it’s vital to give our members the incentive they need to make a long-term change to their lifestyle. One of the ways we do this through our partnerships with major gyms that offer discounted gym memberships for customers who go to the gym frequently.”

Reasons to get healthy
Worryingly, for 16 per cent of dieters in 2007 it took the shock of a health scare to inspire them to take action and embark on a new, healthier lifestyle.

For nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of those who started a diet or fitness regime last year looking good on the beach provided the main motivation. Over a fifth of women (22 per cent) started on their most recent health kick in the three month run-up to the summer holiday season. However, it was our desire for a healthy lifestyle that was the main motivation (35 per cent) for starting a new diet or fitness plan in 2007.

Who’s healthiest?
This year, two thirds of women (69 per cent) compared with only 53 per cent of men planned to start a new diet or fitness plan. The capital is home to the keenest health-freaks as nearly a third (31 per cent) of Londoners were very likely to start a new diet or fitness regime this year, compared with less than a quarter (24 per cent) of people in Wales and the South West.

Help is on hand
PruHealth has linked up with top gyms - Cannons, LA Fitness and Virgin Active - to offer discounted gym memberships for its health insurance policyholders who go to the gym regularly.** If you go twice a week or more on average over a three month period – depending on which gym you go to - you could soon be paying nothing at all. Now you could even get PMI - and be a gym member for a similar price to the retail cost of a gym membership alone. If you have always wanted health insurance and have also always wanted to join the gym, but thought both were too expensive, this offer could provide the solution.

PruHealth members pay an activation fee (£25) and a standard, subsidised fee for the first 3 months Then, depending on the frequency of your gym visits and the particular gym partner you are a member of, your next three months could start from £0 for standard LA Fitness and Cannons memberships, and typically from £5 to £15 for Virgin Active.

Find out more at Pruhealth.co.uk.

*Research conducted by Opinium Research LLP on 20th-31st December 2007, polling 3,292 British adults
**Partner gyms now include Cannons, Virgin Active and LA Fitness, covering a third of health clubs in the UK. Regular use is classed as going twice per week, occasional use is going once per week and infrequent use is going less than once per week over the course of a 3 month period