According to a recent poll one in every three adults in the UK is now on a permanent diet and the over-55s are most the likely to embark on one.
The research conducted by supermarket giant Tesco has found that 15% of adults spend between 30 minutes and an hour each day worrying about their weight and more than one in 20 women admitted to anxiety about their figures for more than three hours a day.
Among the over-55s, 15% try to restrict their calorie intake every day which is double the number of any other age group.
For the research 2,000 people were queried and self-confidence appeared to be one of the main reasons respondents gave for watching their diet.
It appears that 6 out of every 10 women and more than 4 out of 10 men say that losing weight would help them feel better about themselves and many try to lose weight to improve their love life; many too want to look more like celebrities.
Experts worldwide have repeatedly warned that obesity epidemics are looming in many developed countries and they say if current trends persist, by the year 2050, 60% of adults will be overweight.
They suggest that what is needed is a national long-term, healthy lifestyle plan which substitutes good habits for bad and sets realistic and achievable goals.
They say as many as 70,000 lives could be saved if Britons followed simple healthy eating guidelines.
Research has shown that "yo-yo" diets are ineffective, and may actually carry a risk of weight gain in the long term and are doomed to failure.
The charity Weight Concern, says the findings are not a surprise and it is important that people take their weight seriously and monitor food intake and activity levels regularly.
Weight Concern says there is a need to move away from the concept of "dieting" towards one of "healthy diet" and supermarkets could help by focusing on providing healthy food choices.
Another poll carried out for the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) charity has also found that many Brits are unhappy about their weight.