Majority of British Women Would Choose a Double Chin Over the Dreaded ‘LBB’

LONDON - A new survey, commissioned by Activia has revealed a bloated belly as the number one body complaint amongst British women[1] with 52% of women surveyed stating that they would rather live without it. Lower belly bloating or LBB (described in the survey as the physical increase in below the waistband belly size) has even overtaken other irksome conditions such as the muffin top and ‘cankles’ (thick ankles), not to mention more visual features such as a double chin, little boobs or ‘thunder thighs’.

Move over Muffin top, LBB tops the poll…

1. Lower Belly Bloat (LBB) (52%)

2. Double chin (42%)

3. Thunder thighs (41%)

4. Muffin top (31%)

5. Back fat (23%)

6. Small breasts (11%)

7. Cankles (6%)

The research, launched to highlight the misery brought by even a mild digestive disorder, showed almost 3/4 of British women (over 20 million) to be afflicted with LBB, at some time in their lives, with 80% having to regularly perform the obligatory, yet embarrassing ‘trouser tummy tuck’ i.e. having to pull their waistband up and over their bellies when sitting down. Hardly surprising when you consider that LBB can result in an increase in waist circumference of up to 12cm over the course of a day.[2]

Gladeana McMahon, consultant psychotherapist says: “It is not surprising that over 50% of the women surveyed said they would rather live without bloating. A woman’s mood tends to be more easily affected by their perception of the way they look, and when clothes don’t fit, women feel fat and this can knock their self confidence. The way a woman looks is closely allied to her sense of femininity and a bloated stomach is a constant physical reminder of unwanted flaws. In our society a flat stomach on a woman is a sign of being in control, being healthy and being attractive, therefore women feel more unattractive when they experience bloating. Women also tend to worry more about what other people think than men and therefore are more likely to worry that other people will see them as being unattractive.”

Although abdominal bloating can frequently be a result of lifestyle and stress, it is also thought to possibly be as a result of slower ‘transit time’ - where food doesn’t move through the system as quickly as it could. Corinne Chant, Activia’s Marketing Manager, says: “Activia is scientifically proven to help improve slower digestive transit*, with 82% of people with self-reported digestive discomfort saying that they felt better after having Activia for two weeks,[3] and 87% reporting that they feel less bloated.[4]“

NOTES TO EDITOR

- Bloating is a sensation/feeling of abdominal swelling/distension/ discomfort. You can also feel bloated without the occurrence of abdominal distension. Results also showed that: - Fat day - When bloated, 65% of women feel like they’re having a fat day. What they’re really having is an LBB day - Anti-social - A whopping third of respondents said that the LBB gets them down so much that it would cause them to miss a night out - Irritated - 32% confessed that they get irritated by the fact that the men in their lives don’t suffer from the LBB - Celebrity tummies - 30% believe Madonna has the flattest tummy, ahead of Angelina Jolie , Elle McPherson and Jennifer Aniston - Bikini fear - Nearly 60% (6 out of 10) of women feel conscious of about getting a bloated when wearing a bikini (with 16-24 yr olds feeling the most conscious) - Top choice for size reduction - 76% of women would choose to deflate their tummy over any other body part

About Activia(R)

- Activia is a yogurt that contains the exclusive culture Bifidus Actiregularis(TM) (Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010), which works alongside the good bacteria in your gut. Activia is scientifically proven to help improve slower digestive transit* - Activia helps keep your digestive system healthy by improving slower digestive transit when at least one pot is eaten everyday for 2 weeks as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle. Continuing to eat Activia will help to maintain that benefit - Daily consumption of Activia (2×125g pots) has been shown to significantly reduce the percentage change in maximal abdominal distension in IBS sufferers by 39%.[5] - Bifidus Actiregularis is the name of the natural probiotic culture in Activia that, when eaten has been scientifically proven to survive passage through the digestive system, arriving into the large intestine as a live culture. Activia is the only yogurt in the world that contains Bifidus Actiregularis

About probiotics

- Probiotics, such as those contained in Activia, are ‘good’ or ‘friendly’ bacteria that have proven health benefits - Probiotic yogurts, such as Activia, help to positively modulate the balance of good bacteria that naturally occur in the gut - Not all probiotic products are the same - the benefits of probiotics are strain specific - Activia contains more than 10 billion live probiotic bacteria per serving (125g) - The word probiotic derives from the Greek word pro-bios, meaning ‘for life’, which the World Health Organization defines as: “live microrganisms, which when eaten in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”[6] Further information about probiotics and Activia(R) can be found at: www.danoneactivia.co.uk; www.factivia.co.uk and www.probioticsnews.co.uk

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[1] Beat the Bloat Exposé conducted by Pollab Limited: 1055 UK Female Adults: April 2009

[2] L. Houghton et al. Relationship of Abdominal Bloating to Distention in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Effect of Bowel Habit. Gastroenterology , Volume 131 , Issue 4 , Pages 1003 - 1010

* Activia is scientifically proven to help improve slower digestive transit when at least one pot is eaten every day for 14 days as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle.

[3] Study where 292 consumers ate one or two pots of Activia everyday for 14 days.

[4] As compared to 54% who reported feeling less bloated in the control group in the same study.

[5] Agarwal et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2009;29:104-14.

[6] FAO/WHO 2002

For further information please contact:

Karen Dennehy or Robyn Cabarrao at Allidura

Tel: +44(0)20-7632-1800 k.dennehy@allidura.com; r.cabarrao@allidura.com

Source: Danone Activia

For further information please contact: Karen Dennehy or Robyn Cabarrao at Allidura, Tel: +44(0)20-7632-1800, k.dennehy at allidura.com; r.cabarrao at allidura.com