Glasgow is the hangriest city in the UK according to new research from WW (formerly Weight Watchers), with 93% of the population experiencing hunger, low mood and disrupted sleep patterns caused by restrictive dieting – something that 22.6 million Brits are doing this month.
Belfast is a close second with 92% feeling hangry and both Cardiff and London score highly too with 91% of people suffering with hanger pains. The UK’s least hangry city is Edinburgh, where 69% aren’t feeling hangry this month.
Here’s what the UK’s hanger league table looks like:
The UK’s hangry hot spots – with the percentage of residents experiencing hanger
1. Glasgow 93%
2. Belfast 92%
3 + 4 Cardiff/London 91%
5. Liverpool 87%
6. Brighton 86%
7. Plymouth 85%
8 + 9 Manchester/Southampton 84%
10. Leeds 82%
UK’s least hangry locations
1. Edinburgh 69%
2. Sheffield 71%
3. Bristol 75%
4. Nottingham 76%
5. Norwich 80%
Hanger is most likely to strike between 11 am and midday, and the number one go-to foods are crisps (12%) and chocolate (12%) with bread, toast, sandwiches and pizza all coming in close behind.
34% think about food more when they’re on a calorie-controlled or restrictive diet, 28% report getting more irritable or unreasonable, 23% report feeling sadder, and one in five (18 percent) expect to lose sleep due to hunger.
More than one in three people (34 percent) end up thinking about food more, 28 percent become more irritable and unreasonable and 18 percent will even lose sleep due to hunger.
Almost four million people (7 percent) will cut out food groups like carbs, and a further four million will begin fasting, skipping or replacing meals altogether.
72 percent will give up because it makes them hangry and 19 percent will become so obsessed with food, they’ll end up gaining weight.
Doctor, Health Coach and TV presenter Dr. Helen Lawal says, “Sometimes fad diets work for short periods of time, then we return to old habits, feeling like we have failed, turning towards food to pick us up and the cycle continues.”
“People don’t need to make themselves miserable, hungry and in some cases, ill, to lose weight,” explains Anna Hill, General Manager of WW UK.
“We devised our new programme to enable people to get real results with fewer cravings and less hunger.”
With the new WW PersonalPoints Programme you’ll NEVER feel ‘hangry’ as it’s designed just for you, so you can live your fullest life, enjoying the foods you love with no restrictions or deprivation, whilst still losing weight. For more information visit ww.com/uk