How to Make a Halloween Resolution

Halloween is like Thanksgiving for candy bars.

Today I was at an amazing company that made Halloween the focus of their day.  Costume parties with five categories of winners, a cooking contest and taste test, a catered lunch, a haunted hallway, and a 3:30-5:00 office-to-office trick-or-treating for families who had kids.  I gave away toothbrushes and Dollar Store toys to the 80 or so kids who come by with 10-lb trick-or-treat bags:  Toys = 78; Toothbrushes = 2.

What this reminds me of is a very cool research study we did that showed that every year American's start gaining more weight from today and for the next two months.  The key take-away is that we shouldn't wait until January 1st to make a resolution to lose weight.  We should make a Halloween resolution to not gain weight.  (Or a November resolution.)

Below are some nice details related about the study.

​Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving . . . the summer is almost over but the indulgent holiday season is near. This study we conducted found that many of us spend months getting rid of that excess weight gained during the holiday season. The study showed that according to yearly national weight patterns, it takes American’s nearly 5 months to lose weight gained between Thanksgiving and Easter. 

From their analysis of the weight patterns of over 2800 individuals researchers found that, in the US weight patterns begin rising around Thanksgiving, and peak around Christmas and the New Year. It isn’t until after Easter, about a 5 month period, that weight patterns even out with only slight fluctuation between April and November.  

The researchers also analyzed yearly weight patters in Germany and Japan. Similar to the US, those in Germany weighted the most around Christmas/New-Year period and those in Japan weight the most during Golden Week in April – a major Japanese holiday. Each country also showed a peak in weight for New Years. 

“Everyone gains weight over the holidays — Americans, Germans, Japanese," explains , co-author Brian Wansink,  author of Slim By Design, “Instead of making a New Year’s Resolution, the best time to make a resolution to keep the pounds off this holiday season is now!”