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Over 50 Percent of Spouses Want Their Partners to Lose Weight

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Mar 27, 2013 10:23 AM EDT

Physical appearance and attractiveness are usually never the main aspects of a marriage, and although a new survey revealed that over 50 percent of spouses want their partners to lose weight, their reasons hold more depth than just looks. According to the British Heart Foundation survey, almost 60 percent of people stated that they wanted their significant others to lose weight, and not just a few pounds. However, the majority of the people wanted their partners to be healthier and not necessarily better looking.

The survey interviewed 1,426 men and women and the data was compiled for Heart Matters, which is a free program that gives support and advice in regards to improving heart health. The participants were asked a series of questions ranging from weight loss to alcohol consumption. Although more than half of the participants wanted their spouses to lose weight, 43 percent of this group stated that the weight loss would have to be at least 14 pound in order to significantly make a difference in their spouses' health.  The percentage soared drastically to 80 percent when the participants were asked about whether or not they wanted their partners to stop smoking. However, the number of people who wanted their spouses to consume less alcohol barely reached 25 percent.

Based from these findings, the researchers also gathered information on how people would go about asking for these changes. 58 percent of the interviewees believed that asking their partners directly to change their habits was the best approach. Three percent of the people stated that they would use rewards as an encouragement method with less than one percent of the people stating that they would use threats.

These findings reiterated the new statistic that stated that British people are consuming 43 percent more food than recommended. British people were also eating seven times more butter and fatty-type spreads than needed. The Weight Watchers Company compiled these numbers.

"With the increased popularity of coffee shop culture and eating on the go it seems that, everywhere you turn, there is yet another place you can buy food, cooked and ready to eat," the Head of Public Health with the weight-loss company, Zoe Hellman said.

Based from these numbers and the survey findings, weight loss in the United Kingdom might be a topic that needs to be addressed more seriously. With more people gaining weight to the point where it gets unhealthy, more health complications might arise down the line, and thus, it is important to inform the public about their eating habits and weight.

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