The majority of British adults are unhappy with their bodies but are not making the necessary dietary changes to improve the situation, new research suggests.

A poll of 1,647 adults by Caterer.com found that 84 per cent of British people are unhappy with their bodies.

However, the fact that 28 per cent admitted to surviving on a diet of ready meals and junk food suggests that there is little chance of their figures improving.

Seventy-two per cent said that they were unhappy with their weight, yet only 21 per cent of the respondents felt that their diet was healthy and nutritious and one in four said that they were too busy to prepare meals from scratch.

Spokesman Ian Burke said that he was "shocked" that so few people knew how to be healthy.

"It's sad to discover that so many people would rather eat crisps at dinnertime than a healthy, nutritious and warm meal," he added.

A recent study suggests that adults' habits with regard to junk food are rubbing off on their children, as the majority of children surveyed by the British Heart Foundation did not realise the health consequences of an unhealthy diet.