21% of Britons Admit to Starving Themselves Before a Holiday

Having a holiday planned is very exciting, but some people start stressing over what they'll look like in their swimwear months before their due to fly out to sunnier climes.

It's normal to want to feel confident in your holiday skin, but we wanted to find out what lengths people go to in order to prepare for a trip away. We polled 2,165 peopled aged 18 and over from around the UK, all of whom had been on a holiday abroad in the last 12 months. Everyone taking part was asked questions about the months and weeks leading up to their holiday, with regards to their eating and exercising habits.

39% of holidaymakers exercise more than usual before their trip

When we asked, 'Which of the following, if any, did you do before your last holiday abroad in order to physically prepare/lose weight for your trip?' and told respondents to select from a list of possible answers, those taking part in our survey admitted to the following:

1. Following a healthier diet/eating plan - 58%

2. Exercising a little more than usual - 39%

3. Starving myself by skipping meals to lose weight - 21%

4. Excessive exercising - 17%

5. Non-invasive procedure (e.g. botox, fillers, laser hair removal) - 6%

Three of the respondents taking part in the survey even admitted to having cosmetic surgery before their holiday, specifically to feel better about the way they looked whilst on the trip!

Women more likely to skip meals than men before a holiday

An equal number of men and women took part in our survey, so we looked into how attitudes and behaviour varied between genders. According to our results, women were more likely than men to starve themselves/skip meals in the run up to a holiday; making up 88% of those who said that they had done so.

However, men were more likely than women to undertake excessive exercise, making up 62% of those who said that they had done so. Women were more likely to follow a healthy diet and exercise a little more than usual, making up 71% and 55% of the respondents who said they did so.

When all respondents taking part were asked 'Do you feel under pressure to look a certain way (e.g. 'in shape') by the time a holiday abroad arrives?' 67% said 'yes'. The majority of these people, 54%, blamed 'celebrity culture' for their perceptions of an 'acceptable' holiday body image.

These results are really, very worrying. It's one thing to want to shift a few pounds before a holiday and step up your exercise and healthy eating, but it's another matter entirely when you start skipping meals and going hungry in an attempt to lose weight. This is a very dangerous trend indeed!