Holida Weight and New Year's Resolutions

Holiday Weight Gain and New Year's Resolutions

Article By: Weight Watchers Research Department




While the holidays are a special time of year, bringing seasonal cheer and time-honored festivities, they can also be a time for overindulgence and weight gain.


How much holiday weight is gained?
Although it is a popular belief that average adult gains between 5 to 10 pounds in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the good news is, this does not appear to be true. According to the most reliable to-date study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average weight gain was a little less than one pound. The study participants who did have a major holiday weight gain, defined as 5 pounds or more, were more likely to be overweight than people who gained less.

While this small average amount of weight gain may seem trivial, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year. In fact, when the study participants were weighed a year after the study began, they gained an average of 1.4 pounds, over half of which was accumulated during the six-week holiday period. In other words, a large proportion of yearly weight gain occurs during the holidays and is likely to accrue over the years, contributing to the increase in body weight that often occurs during adulthood.

The researchers also investigated possible reasons for holiday weight gain, including stress, hunger, physical activity, smoking habits, the presence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and the number of seasonal parties attended. Only changes in hunger and physical activity were related to changes in weight. People who reported increased hunger or decreased activity gained the most weight while those who reported being much less hungry or much more active had the least weight gain.

Do New Year's resolutions work?
After the holidays are over, many people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight. and research suggests this may be helpful. According to a 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, people who made New Year's resolutions had higher rates of success at making the desired behavior change (losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking being the most prevalent) than people who did not make resolutions. After six months, 46 percent of the resolution makers were successful compared to just 4 percent of the people who did not make resolutions.

Bottom line
Working to prevent weight gain during this holiday season along with making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, by having a healthy relationship with food, may be helpful in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.