Negative influences on dieters

The following seven groups may be regarded as negative influences on dieters and may help you determine what influences you:

Social: peer pressure to eat badly, isolation, working long hours

Psychological: stress and low self esteem, snacking when bored, treating food as a reward

Eating and Drinking: big portions, eating too quickly, impulse-buying in supermarkets

Physical Activity: travelling short distances by car instead of walking, using remote controls to change channels, playing indoors instead of outside

Environment: desk jobs, expensive gyms, reliance on labour-saving devices

Physiology: not getting enough sleep, genes that make us crave fatty and sugary foods

Television, Computers & Magazines: being influenced by unrealistically thin role models, spending hours in front of a TV or computer screen, watching TV adverts for unhealthy foods.

Bridget Benelam, Senior nutrition scientist, says that the key to losing weight could be to try to make at least one change within each of the seven groups. People can make a series of small changes to their behaviour, which when combined, will have a larger overall effect, she said.

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