PruHealth Diet and Fitness Research

New years resolutions are often forgotten about by the end of January. However, research by medical insurance company PruHealth found that 35% of Britons saw their diet and fitness plans as a long term goal.

62% of adults expected to embark on a new exercise and fitness regime in 2009 and on average they expected to have completed their goals by the middle of March.

25% of participants found that resisting sugary snacks would be their biggest hurdle whereas only 9% of people cited as going to the gym or undertaking a physical fitness regime as being their biggest hurdle. This corroborates with research that shows that people are more likely to want to 'add' something to their health plans, for example, taking up exercise, than they are to want to 'give something up', for example, sweets and chocolate.

PruHealth's Marketing Director, Katie Roswell 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.”

The main motivation for people to embark on a diet and fitness plan was the desire for a healthy lifestyle. 35% of participants cited this as their main reason. Other reasons were the wish to be slimmer for their summer holiday (18%).

Women were more motivated to start a new regime compared with men (69% and 53% respectively). There were regional differences with only 25% of people in the South West and Wales planning to embark on any changes compared to Londoners of whom 31% were likely to start improving their physical wellbeing.

The research was conducted on behalf of PruHealth by Opinium Research LLP on 20th-31st December 200. 3,292 British adults took part in the research.

PruHealth provide a range of private medical insurance plans and are unique in their Vitality points reward scheme which offers you reduced premiums if you choose to live a healthier lifestyle. Health Insurance News UK shows in more detail how PruHealth and other private health cover companies are working to improve their clients wellbeing.