Another resolution story?! What you might not know is that while one in four Canadians resolve to eat healthier each January 1st, one quarter fail by February and even more may fall prey to the mid-March blahs1. According to The Skinny Cow® 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey*, our cravings may hold the key. While more than half of us feel we have “a lot” to “complete” control of our lives, both at work and home, 70 percent of us lose control when it comes to food cravings.
The Skinny Cow® 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey: Get the Skinny
• Do we have a control issue? Ninety percent of us feel we have some (31%), a lot (39%) or complete (20%) control of our lives at work and/or at home.
• Cravings control: Seventy percent of Canadians give in to their food cravings sometimes (56%), almost always (9%) or always (5%), while eight percent claim they never lose control!
• He says, she says: Women are almost three times as likely as men to give into cravings due to stress/anxiety or feelings of sadness/loneliness and two times as likely due to boredom. And compared to married couples, single Canadians are twice as likely to give in to their cravings “almost always” or “always.”
• You're so controlling: Among Canadians, while Quebecers feel they have the least amount of control in their lives, both at home and at work (55% believe they have some, minimal or no control compared to an average of 31% in the rest of Canada), they DO have the highest control over their food cravings – 42 percent “almost never” or “never” give in to their cravings compared to the national average (26%).
• Triggers: Canadians claim their food cravings are due to stress and anxiety (14%), boredom (12%), seeing advertisements for specific foods (9%), food smells (7%), loneliness and/or sadness (4%) and happiness (4%). Only two percent stated pregnancy was the culprit.
• Ice cream, chocolate, chips….oh my! While Canadians share a small preference for sweet over salty (48% vs 40%), women are one and a half times more likely than men to choose sweet over salty. Interestingly, one in 100 women crave salad while three percent of Canadians crave vegetables!
Notes: 1. Leger Marketing, February 2004, Poll of 1,500 Canadians
*About the survey: The Skinny Cow® 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey was conducted by Decima Research from December 15 to 18, 2005 among 1,000 nationally representative adults 18 years of age or older. The results are accurate within +/- 3.1%.
