The average woman tells nine lies a week about her eating habits with “It was only a small portion” topping the list of the most popular female food fibs, a survey has revealed.
This was closely followed by the old chestnuts, “I’ll have a big lunch so I won’t eat much after this” and “I only treat myself once in a while”.
The study of 3,000 Brits found that women also lie about eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, never eating biscuits and only drinking one glass of wine a day.
From empty promises such as “I won’t eat again today” and convenient excuses like “I just finished off the kids’ leftovers” to outright fibs such as “I never eat fast food” and “only drink on special occasions”, the survey, by Timex watches, shows that British women are truly in denial when it comes to their dietary habits.
Only 37% of women admitted they are kidding themselves about the food they are really eating by telling lies while the remaining 63% think the odd fib about their food intake is harmless.
Although these little white lies may seem relatively harmless, Dr Davina Deniszczyc, Professional Head of Physicians at Nuffield Health, explains that they can have an adverse effect on our mindset and ultimately our weight.
She told The Huffington Post: “Denial symptoms are common but the problem is overweight people tend to eat emotionally rather than due to actual hunger, so if they feel that they have denied themselves they are likely to overeat it at the next opportunity.
She adds: “Denial also gets us into the spiral of negative thinking which affects our weight adversely.”
The poll also revealed the foods and drinks women are most likely to lie about with chocolate, crisps and cake topping the list.
Chiropractic physician, Dr Cassandra Maximenko, said: "Studies show that keeping a food diary can double weight loss but it seems that rather than being honest about the food and drink which passes our lips, many women are lying about it, or completely denying it altogether.
"But while this might save them some embarrassment in front of their partner or friends in the short term, it's not going to help them reach their health and weight loss goals in the future.
"By lying to their loved ones, women are also lying to themselves and could easily see their weight creep up."