Making a New Year’s resolution to get fitter and healthier? You’re not the only one.
A new survey of hundreds of US consumers by Civic Science – a US data analytics company founded in 2008 as part of a Carnegie Mellon University incubator project – has found that “improving food and diet” is the most popular vow going into 2026, with 28 percent of respondents listing it as their top goal.
“Creating a better fitness and exercise routine” came a close second at 26 percent, underscoring the interest in health and wellbeing. Meanwhile, “quitting smoking or drinking” stood at 26 percent, which study authors say is the “highest level seen since CivicScience began studying resolutions more than 10 years ago.”
[See more: Here are five unique New Year traditions from around the world]
Unsurprisingly, makers of such resolutions intend to buy fitness equipment early in the new year. Pollsters found that almost a quarter of respondents planned to buy yoga equipment within 30 days of taking the survey, which was conducted between 22 and 29 December. More than a fifth planned to buy treadmills, stationary bikes or free weights.
A Statista survey of New Year resolutions conducted in October and November found an even greater proportion of respondents resolving to work on their health. According to that survey, 48 percent of US adults are vowing to “exercise more” in 2026, while 45 percent want to “eat healthier” and another 31 percent plan to “lose weight.”
Financial, mental and ecological wellbeing are also on the list of Statista responses, with 46 percent pledging to “save more money,” 24 percent promising to “do more for the environment” and 22 percent intending to “reduce stress on the job”
