Fate of New Year resolutions

A global study to reveal the best way to keep New Year resolutions was launched last week in the UK as part of a wider effort to understand how to break bad habits.

A professor of the public understanding of psychology wants to find out why some people manage to stick by decisions to change something about their life, while other best intentions are unlikely to survive the month of January.

Prof Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, hopes that thousands of people will take part in the online experiment, at www.newyearscience.co.uk, which also aims to reveal what types of people are most successful at sticking to New Year resolutions.

The many thousands of smokers across the world who stub out their "last" cigarette at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve will spark up another as soon as their hangover has cleared the next day.

And others who vow to start shedding the pounds in January by going to the gym four times a week are destined instead to crash out on the sofa watching TV.

Prof Wiseman believes success could be determined by the way people go about trying to change or break habits.

"It is about how to get people to change and I found it surprising just how little research has been done keeping New Year resolutions, given it is relevant to issues such as global warming, alcohol consumption and obesity."

Participants who join the experiment — by filling in a brief online questionnaire — will be randomly asked to try one of four different methods.

Every one will also be offered more general tips, including making just one New Year resolution.

Many people fall into the trap of trying to do too much — or revisiting old (failed) ones.

During the year the fate of the resolutions will be tracked by age, sex and even region to reveal who is best at sticking to them and why.