LONDON, February 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
If you thought that inviting someone to a dinner party would make their day - think again!
New research from Weight Watchers UK reveals that such an invitation is more likely to bring dread than delight to the recipient.
According to a survey from the slimming organisation, 81% of people in the UKworry when asked to attend a dinner party and 85% of people worry about hosting a dinner party.
Other worries included guests feeling anxious about what they are going to wear (28%), more than one in five (21%) fret about what food they will be served and more than one in ten (11%) agonise about who will do the driving.
Another 11% lose sleep over what gift to take and the other 10% of dinner-party goers worry what games they might be forced to play. And if that isn't enough to put you off inviting anyone around, there is also the chance of that slaved-over dinner ending up in the dog!
Over half of guests admitted avoiding eating high-calorie foods while at dinner parties and 16% of them confessed sneaking it to the dog. A third of dinner-party dieters said they would put fattening food discretely onto a friend or partners plate, 40% said they would pretend to be full so they didn't have to eat it and over one in ten people would go as far as faking illness to avoid consuming the extra calories.
Given these findings it is perhaps not surprising that, despite the popularity of TV shows such as "Come Dine With Me" and celebrity chefs' cooking programmes, we Britons are not a nation of regular dinner party hosts with 80% of us holding a dinner party only a few times a year, or not at all.
However, Weight Watchers aim to change all that and commissioned the report to celebrate the launch of their new 'Supper Club' Facebook tool to encourage people to have fun with their food.
Lucy Vickers, Weight Watchers nutritionist said:
"As the world's largest slimming organisation, we have never been known to shy away from a challenge and we think we can help take the dread out of dinner parties. We want to show members how to enjoy tasty food while still losing weight and to share the experience with friends and family.
"The new 'Supper Club' tool offers people fun and fabulous recipes to inspire them to host a delicious dinner party of their own, without compromising healthy eating. We believe that providing good food without the worry of it affecting weight loss is the way to let your guests enjoy a lovely, guilt-free meal. The tool can even be used to send out invitations.
"We can't help with what to wear, but we are confident that, with Weight Watchers' new balanced recipes, dinner will end up in your guests and not the dog."
Anyone can access the 'Supper Club' tool by visiting facebook.com/weightwatchersuk.
The research also marks the launch of Weight Watchers Easy Start, which is available to all UK members and consists of 7 days of delicious and nutritionally balanced meal plans with corresponding ProPoints values.
For more information visit weightwatchers.co.uk or call 08457-123 000 for your nearest meeting.
Top ten favourite dinner party dishes identified in the survey were:
- Lasagne
- Indian Curry
- Thai Curry
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Fajitas
- Stir Fry
- Chilli Con Carne
- Fish & Chips
- Carbonara
- Shepherd's / Cottage Pie
And the top ten dream guests were named as:
1. Gary Barlow
2. Kate Middleton
3. Prince Harry
4. Prince William
5. David Beckham
6. David Walliams
7. The Queen
8. Simon Cowell
9. Victoria Beckham
10. Caitlin Moran
Source: One Poll survey commissioned by Weight Watchers UK of 1,000 UK Adults, Oct 2011.
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