Typical woman spends ten years on a diet

The average woman spends ten years of her life on a diet, a new survey suggests.

Researchers at Lipobind, the manufacturer of a weight loss supplement, polled 4,000 women and found that nearly three quarters thought they could do with losing a few pounds.

A third of respondents said they had been 16 years old or under when they embarked upon their first diet and 44 per cent claimed that they never managed to achieve weight loss.

The survey also found that the average woman goes on a five-week healthy eating plan twice a year, meaning that females typically go on 104 diets between the ages of 18 and 70.

Dr Glenn Wilson, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said: "This highlights just how much women think about their weight during their lives and the pressure associated with keeping in shape.

"Feeling healthy and in shape can make such a difference to overall wellbeing, yet many people struggle to reach and sustain their ideal figure with 25 per cent who would even be willing to go under the knife to get rid of their extra pounds," he revealed.