Suffolk has one of the highest percentages of overweight people in English counties.

The county made the top five when ranking the number of people classed as overweight, based on their Body Mass Index (BMI), as a percentage of its population.

According to the data from Sport England’s Active People Survey 42.7% of people in Suffolk fall into this category, with 23.3% being rated as obese.

Only Cumbria (43.2%) and North Yorkshire (43%) are the two counties which have higher proportions of overweight people amongst their population, according to the data.

And with 42.6% and 42.4% respectively Lincolnshire and Hampshire below Suffolk complete the remainder of the top five.

Fifth placed in the obese county rankings was Norfolk with 25%, according to the data which covered 2012 to 2014, with Lincolnshire top (27.4%).

New data from research conducted for German diet product Almased also shows despite their best intentions around 40% of people in the UK will have ditched New Year’s resolutions to lose weight.

Enjoying unhealthy food too much and not being able to keep up their motivation were some of the reasons people gave for the diet and exercise plans falling through so quickly.

Almased nutritionist Katie Hipwell said: “Early January is about the worst time possible to embark on a healthy eating or weight loss regime.

“Having subjected our bodies to at least two weeks of indulgence over Christmas, incredibly we then expect to go cold turkey overnight.

“For those in the north, with a colder climate, the recent extreme weather has made it even harder to stick to New Year’s resolutions to get into shape.

“That might forgive some of the more extreme statistics from the northern counties.

“The solution is to go gently, be kind to yourself, eat in moderation.

“Take gentle steps to ease back into exercise and find a diet plan that is most suited to your lifestyle but one that also takes into account the body’s complicated nutritional needs.

“On top of depriving the body of calories, which in the right quantities equate to essential warmth and energy, depriving it of nutrients and fats can then contribute to muscle wastage and a yo-yo diet effect.”