The researchers contacted participants by telephone after 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 2 years.ĭuring these interviews, the researchers also asked participants what techniques they used to help them keep their resolutions, and how often they implemented each one. In the Pennsylvania study we mention above, the scientists found no link between success rate and participants’ sex or age similarly, the type of resolution did not influence how likely they were to succeed.

What increases the chances of succeeding? Around one-third of those who were obese or overweight stated that they were not successful due to a lack of confidence. In the overweight group, three-quarters of the female respondents said that their primary reason for failing to lose weight was that it took too long to see results. However, of thos with a BMI of 30 or above - which doctors class as overweight or obese - only 9% reported some success. They found that around half of the women had made a weight loss New Year’s resolution in the past 2 years.Īs for success rates, they observed that women with a body mass index ( BMI) of under 25, which health experts define as “normal,” were successful 20% of the time. In 2009, GlaxoSmithKline released Orlistat, which they hailed as “the first clinically proven over-the-counter weight loss aid” in Europe.Īs part of their marketing push, the company also conducted an internet survey about weight loss that included questions about New Year’s resolutions.Īlthough the survey was not meant to be a scientific study, it generated a substantial pool of data with 12,410 females from six European countries responding.Ī group of researchers took advantage of this dataset and published an analysis in the journal Obesity Facts. Successes and failures of weight loss goals That is sound advice, but not necessarily easy to implement. The authors believe that the key to successful resolutions is to focus on replacing unhealthful items with healthful ones, rather than buying both. “Despite resolutions to eat more healthfully after New Year’s, consumers may adjust to a new ‘status quo’ of increased less-health food purchasing during the holidays, and dubiously fulfill their New Year’s resolutions by spending more on health foods.” Overall, the number of calories they purchased in the New Year was higher than during the holiday period. However, the sale of less healthful items did not drop in tandem with this health drive - people were buying more nutritious items, but still purchasing the same amount of unhealthful food. Three-quarters of this increase went on less healthful items.Īlso, as expected, when January rolled around, the sale of healthful items shot up by 29.4%. Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that, during the holiday period, expenditure increased by 15%. The research team tracked the food shopping habits of 207 households from July 2010 to March 2011. “Only 13% of the sample was abstinent at 1 year, and 19% reported abstinence at the 2-year follow-up.”Īnother study, appearing in PLOS ONE, took a more general look at behavior. Overall, though, the results seemed a little disappointing with the authors writing: Of the 77% successful resolvers, more than half slipped at least once, and, on average, people slipped 14 times across the 2 years.Ī study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1988 followed the efforts of 153 New Year’s resolvers who were determined to quit smoking.Īt 1 month, 77% of participants had managed at least one 24-hour period of abstinence. Although that is a substantial drop out rate, it means that 1 in 5 of those participants achieved their goal. Less frequently, people pledged to improve relationships, and a surprisingly low 2.5% were hoping to control their drinking habits.Īn impressive 77% managed to hold to their pledges for 1 week, but the success rate dropped to 19% over 2 years. On average, the participants made 1.8 resolutions, most commonly, to stop smoking or lose weight. A study from 1989 tracked 200 people living in Pennsylvania as they attempted to make changes based on New Year’s resolutions.

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