Resolutions Gone Bad

Ray MartinChief Executive Officer, Americas
January 14, 2013, 11:45 AM GMT+0

It didn’t take long for New Year’s resolutions to be broken.

According to the latest YouGov Omnibus survey just six days after January 1st, 11% of Americans had already broke at least one resolution while 22% had cheated a few times but were generally going well.

About one third of the population (32%) made at least one New Year’s resolution this year. With our food-focused holiday celebrations finally over health and fitness topped the resolution list with 37% of those who had made a resolution vowing to shed some pounds, and 28% wanting to get fitter.

Unfortunately, the resolutions that have been broken first are the most popular ones made: losing weight and doing more exercise. Attending regular exercise classes (19% of those who had made a resolution) or joining a gym (17%) were thought most likely to help make resolutions stick.

In an economy that is continuing harsh, personal finance was a hot topic for resolutions. 20% of those who had made a resolution were determined to spend less and save more, and 17% wanted to budget better. Only one week in 12% had already broken the better budgeting resolution.

For further information about poll results, and for details about methodology and Omnibus services, please email omnibus.us@yougov.com.

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