Women tell 500 lies a year about eating

According to a British survey, women tell about 500 lies about their food consumption every year. The most common fibs are about their intake of sweets, cheese, bread, chips and burgers. Photo / Thinkstock

Did you just have a healthy salad for lunch, then nothing more than the kids' leftovers and one glass of wine in the evening? Yeah, right.

The average woman tells almost 500 lies a year about her eating and drinking habits, according to a survey.

That's almost nine fibs every week about how much food she's eaten, what she's snacked on and how many drinks she's had.

Favourite untruths include "It was only a small portion" after eating a large meal, and "I'll have a big lunch so I won't eat much after this" when they know they will have an afternoon of sugary treats and fatty foods.

Other classics are "I only treat myself once in a blue moon" while munching on goodies all day, and "I always eat my five-a-day" when the reality is quite the opposite. Chocolate is the food that women are most likely to lie about, followed by crisps and cake.

Fibs about their consumption of sweets, cheese, bread, chips and burgers are also among the top ten most common falsehoods, along with wine and beer.

"I never touch fast food" is another popular line, trotted out even by those who enjoy clandestine visits to McDonald's or KFC when no one's looking.

And "I didn't touch any of the biscuits" is a regular claim, despite the evidence of an empty packet in the kitchen bin.

For drinking, the "I only had one glass" line is frequently served up after polishing off an entire bottle of wine. And at weddings or parties the"I only had a drink because we were toasting an occasion" claim is often used, when, in fact, the 'toast' went on all night.

Other popular lines include "I just finished off the kids' leftovers' without mentioning quite how much food the children left, and "I only had a salad so that's healthy", choosing to ignore the fatty dressings and extras.

In all, the survey of 3,000 Britons, commissioned by Timex, found that the average woman tells 474 of these lies every year.

Dr Cassandra Maximenko, a chiropractor and athlete, said that by lying to others, women were also lying to themselves and could easily see their weight creep up or damage their health.

She added: "This study proves we live in a nation of denial where image takes a higher priority than honesty and no one wants to be seen eating food they shouldn't."

- DAILY MAIL