LOSING weight is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, but new research has shown almost two thirds of people in the West Midlands do not know how many calories the average person should eat to maintain a healthy weight.

A survey carried out last month found only 38 per cent of people knew the average man needs 2,500 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. The amount who knew women should aim for 2,000 calories a day was higher at 44 per cent.

Almost half of respondents also underestimated the amount of calories in a medium latte and a blueberry muffin, while 40 per cent did not know how many were in plate of chicken tikka masala with rice. Meanwhile, 38 per cent underestimated the amount in half a pint of semi skimming milk.

Chief executive of the British Heart Foundation Simon Gillespie called the figures “deeply concerning”.

“Eating too much of any food increases the chances of becoming obese, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, which is the UK’s single biggest killer,” he said.

“We all must pay more notice to what and how much we are eating and drinking to maintain a healthy weight and heart.

“Half of us aren’t doing enough physical activity and this makes the situation much, much worse.

“Eating a balanced, healthy diet and doing regular physical activity are really important in reducing the risk of becoming overweight and developing heart disease.”

Concerns have also been raised around the amount of physical activity being carried out by people in the country, with more than half of people in the region saying they do less than 150 minutes of exercise a week and seven per cent saying they do none at all.

Chief executive of Diabetes UK Barbara Young said the trend was “worrying”.

“We need to take urgent action to help the public understand what a healthy diet looks like and this, together with wider changes to society to make healthy choices easier, can make a big difference in turning back the rising tide of obesity,” she said.

The survey was carried out by a new partnership between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation and Tesco.