Global weight survey looks at scale obsessions, fast food addictions and obesity

Synovate's Global Head of Media, Steve Garton, said that these conflicts can be seen across cultures as well as within individuals.

'People are inherently contradictory and nowhere is it more obvious than on such a sensitive and important issue as their weight. The results show there's a world of people who cannot deny themselves that hamburger or extra piece of pizza, but probably make themselves feel better by washing it down with a diet cola.'

The findings come from a global survey that looked at weight management among more than 9,000 respondents across 13 countries on five continents - United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic, Romania, United States, Canada, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Off-the-scale behaviour

Fifteen percent of French people and 12% of Americans weigh themselves every single day, while at the other end of the spectrum only 15% of Hong Kongers get on the scales once or more every week.

'We wanted to see whether people were habitually thinking about their weight and monitoring it,' Garton said.

Around a third of all respondents are regular scale-dwellers, while one in five people never weigh themselves. Half of all Americans and the French check their weight once a week or more and the Singaporeans are the least weight-obsessed with 37% never getting on the scales.

Thierry Pailleux, Synovate's Managing Director in France, made the point that the similar results for France and America possibly stemmed from very different motivations.

'French people take care of their image as a matter of course. Being thin is part of our culture and a point of pride. We are known for it. On top of this, there is increasing awareness of the devastation that obesity can cause to one's health.'

In the UAE 22% weighs themselves once a week against 15 % in Saudi Arabia and 19% of the Saudis claim they never weigh themselves at all. A quarter of the respondents in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia only step on the scales whenever they remember.

Food as fuel or pleasure?

The study asked a series of attitudinal questions which respondents agreed or disagreed with. Garton said this was the clincher in realising just how conflicted people seem to be about food.

'On one hand, more than half of all respondents (54%) agreed that they eat whatever they want, whenever they want. On the other hand, more than two thirds say 'I watch my food intake carefully and strive to be healthy' which rather flies in the face of the first claim. This is the crux of food issues across the globe. People are torn by food as fuel versus food as pleasure,' he said.

The number one fast food nation

The Synovate study also uncovered the number one fast food nation. When asked to agree or disagree with the statement 'I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up', the most addicted nation was the United Kingdom with 45% agreeing.

'Britons love their fish and chips, but only beat the Americans to the punch on fast food addiction by a small margin of one percent. A hefty 44% of Americans cannot give up burgers, pizza and wings, with the next most addicted nation Canada at 37%,' Garton said.

The highest disagrees were France (81%), Singapore (75%) and Hong Kong and Romania (both 73%). The Saudis disagreed on this statement with 67% and the UAE with 60%.

Pailleux said the French are clearly very concerned about weight but their issues have not arisen due to fast food.

'We are more concerned about our traditional high-fat cooking techniques and rich ingredients. This is not something we are going to give up easily... sharing classic food and time with loved ones is key to the French sensibility. However, there is also an element of not wanting to admit that fast food has a place in our lives,' he said.

Obesity: A weighty issue

Obesity is a global issue. It is reaching epidemic proportions in developed nations and many developing countries now also have problems.

Synovate asked people what they believed the main cause of obesity was and found that 40% of all people attribute food as the culprit - 20% chose 'unhealthy food choices' and another 20% chose 'unhealthy food habits like eating at irregular hours'. A further 18% say it is 'lack of exercise', 13% blame the individual ('no self-discipline') and 11% say 'genetics'.

People in the UK (21%) and US (20%), two of the nations with the biggest issues, are most likely to nominate 'no self-discipline' as the leading factor in obesity.

Across the globe, very few people blame their Government as the number one factor in causing obesity.

Losing it

The Synovate survey asked what steps people took when their weight creeps past a certain threshold.

When people are having no joy with their zippers, more choose to address weight issues with measures related to food rather than exercise. The most popular choice globally was 'reduce food intake' at 47%, followed by 'increase physical activity' at 43% and 'change the types of food that you eat' at 35%.

Fifty seven percent of Americans, 56% of French and 54% of Britons deny themselves food to try to lose the pounds, while 14% of Malaysians go for an easy fix, opting for herbs and supplements to try to manage the problem.

A lucky 21% of respondents say their weight does not change - a third of Hong Kong people, 29% of Singaporeans and 27% of Brazilians fall into this category.

Home gyms, low-fat foods and weight loss programmes

The study asked respondents whether they were using a series of measures to either reduce or maintain their weight. Despite the growing girth of many nations, the most popular choice was using none of these measures at all at 40%.

However, a third of all people employ low-fat food products in their weight management regime and 22% use home exercise equipment. Tackling exercise at home was most prevalent in the United States and United Arab Emirates (one third of all people say they use home equipment), Canada (31%) and United Kingdom (30%).

George Griffin, Synovate's Vice President, Multi Client Group, in the United States, said: 'Americans are getting bigger and the message is getting through that we need to tackle it. Many are trying to do this in the comfort of their own homes with exercise equipment.

'This is a phenomenon we also see in our monthly DuraTrend data, which tracks new purchases of electronics. Sales of bathroom scales that are able to measure body fat have doubled since 2003,' he said.

People from the Middle East seem to throw everything at weight problems. Saudi Arabians, and those from UAE were among the top users for low-fat food products, herbs and supplements, meal replacements, weight loss courses, low-carbohydrate foods, diet plans, diet books, gym memberships, as well as home exercise equipment.

Andreas Zachariou, Managing Director of Synovate in UAE and Acting Managing Director of Saudi Arabia, said this was not surprising with more than half the population now classified as overweight or obese.

'While these efforts may not be too focused, the good news is that people are putting some effort into reducing their weight. Health issues are creeping into the consumer consciousness - however, these measures may be more about looking good than improving health.'

Weight loss courses and memberships like WeightWatchers™, Jenny Craig™ and their ilk are most popular in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia (10% of respondents are using or have used them) and Australia at 9%.