Average woman goes on two diets per year

Whether it's Atkins, cabbage soup or simply cutting out carbs, most women have tried their fair share of diets.

In fact, the average 45-year-old woman has been on 61 diets, a new survey found today.

From the age of 16, that equates to around two a year. In a poll of 2,000 British men and women, more than three-quarters had embarked on a diet in the past year.

But it was women who had tried the biggest array of eating plans to try and shift the pounds.

There are fears that fad diets are rubbing off on the next generation, causing potential future health problems.

Six out of 10 people surveyed said they had been asked by their children not to give them foods such as bread, potatoes and fruit, believing they are bad for them, when they are healthy as part of a balanced diet.

Around half of parents did remove some of these foods from their children's diet.

TV doctor Hilary Jones said: "An average of 61 diets over an adult lifetime could mean an awful lot of people have cut a significant amount of calcium out of their diet over the years especially if they've been avoiding calcium-rich food groups on a regular basis.

"It seems the British obsession with dieting could be having a detrimental effect on our nutritional intake, as many people lose sight of what constitutes a healthy balanced diet."

More than 85 per cent of those surveyed, on behalf of the bread company Warburtons, said they did not know calcium was important to their diet and around half did not know calcium was found in white bread.

In particular, those aged under 26 didn't realise the importance of calcium although the mineral – found in dairy products, leafy vegetables and fish as well as bread – helps grow and maintain bones which carry on developing until around 30.

The recommended daily allowance of calcium for adults is around 700mg.