NEW YEAR, NEW ME - TOP NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

A new year often brings the idea of ​​"a new me".By now, most of us have set our New Year's resolutions. We're either feeling great that we've achieved what we set out to or we're hitting our heads because we're struggling to take action on our goals.

Intrigued by this, The Research Team at Tajmeeli was keen to see what the rest of the world thought would be good New Year's Resolutions for 2022.

Using Google Search Data, we looked at the rising search queries in wellness and health categories and topics that people would likely use to set New Year's goals. We examined the data of a sample of seven predominantly English-speaking countries from December 2021 to mid-January 2022.

This is what we discovered.

NEW YEAR, NEW ME - TOP NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1 .The World's New Year's Resolutions for 2022

2 .Global Trends

3 .Individual Country Highlights

4. About the Data

THE WORLD'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022

Tajmeeli identified 14 New Year's Resolutions for 2022 by analyzing Google search queries related to popular health and wellness topics that had a search increase from December 2021 to mid-January 2022.

In the image above you'll see To Lose Weight is the most popular goal with Eating Differently the second and Start Working Out the third favorite New Year's Resolution. Care for Skin and Begin Fasting were tied for 8th place as they had the same number of rising search queries, whereas Take Vitamins and Try Morning Routine were tied for 12th place.

The Top New New Year's Resolutions in Order of Most to Least Popular:

1. Lose Weight
2. Eat Differently
3. Start Working Out
4. Change Hair
5. Sleep Better
6. Follow a Meditation Practice
7. Improve Mental Wellbeing
8. Care for Skin and Begin Fasting
9. Practice Yoga
10. Gain Weight
11. Quit Smoking
12. Take Vitamins and Incorporate a Morning Routine

In the tables below you'll see each New Year's Resolution is listed in the blue horizontal bar at the top of every table. The diagrams also include the search terms of the seven countries related to the resolution represented by the table.

* Queries with 'Breakout' search interest have had a 'tremendous increase, probably because these queries are new and had few (if any) prior searches'. This suggests the search terms had a surge in interest over the past month and a half. A breakout search query, for example, could have not been searched for before the stipulated period and then have a high increase in interest for that specific time. Because of this, there'd be very little search data to compare it to and the query would thus have a breakout increase in searches according to Google.

Breakout search terms are in no particular order.

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GLOBAL TRENDS

The Favorite Resolution

Looking at trends across our samples of predominantly English-speaking countries we found that losing weight is the favorite New Year's resolution for all countries. 

Each one of the seven countries we analyzed had search queries in the losing weight category. 

Top queries included:

“vanderbilt weight loss clinic” at +4 250% in the United States

“yoga for weight loss for beginners” at +4 200% in the United States.

The resolution to lose belly fat was of particular interest across several countries in this category and we discovered 10 different search terms demonstrating people's desire to flatten their stomachs.

These search terms were:

• best exercise to reduce belly fat
• belly fat reduction exercise
• how to reduce belly fat
• how to lose belly fat
• how to lose belly fat fast
• best exercise to lose belly fat
• how to lose lower belly fat
• how to get rid of belly fat
• stomach surgery for weight loss
• how to get rid of lower stomach fat

What's for dinner in 2022?

Eating differently or a change in diet was the second favorite resolution for 2022. The rising search queries in this category suggested that many people's desire to change their diet was to aid weight loss. This wasn't the only motivation however and many search queries showed an interest in a change in diet was also to alleviate other health concerns such as diabetes and allergies. Queries like “low fodmap diet”, “diabetes diet menu” and “cardiac diet” prove this.

A change to a keto diet was by far the popular choice for 2022. The number of rising search queries for terms containing “keto” was recorded at 15. Queries containing “fodmap” or “Mediterranean” tied for second with three search queries each.

Witness the fitness interest increase

The third most popular resolution was to improve physical fitness, with every country demonstrating an increase in search queries on exercise, fitness and working out. 

Beauty is still important this year

When it comes to beauty resolutions, new hair was the firm favorite. The number of rising search queries in this category were recorded at 42. People's favorite way of changing their hair in 2022 was to change its color - search queries around color were more popular than hair cuts or styles. Searches on hair color trends in 2022 had a breakout search interest in both the Philippines and Canada with a 1 100% increase in the search term, “2022 hair color trends” for the Philippines.

INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS

PHILIPPINES

1. The biggest focus in the Philippines was around hair, with nineteen search queries on how to change your hair in 2022. Eleven of these queries focused on new hair color ideas. There was a breakout interest in the search term, “2022 hair color trends” and a 1 100% increase in searches for “hair color 2022”.

2. The Filipinos also showed an interest in improving health by taking vitamins and supplements. The search term “mosegor vitamins” had an increase of 250% while “vitamins with zinc” had an increase in searches of 200%.

3. Interestingly and any other country, people from the Philippines seem to want to improve on their decision-making abilities unlike, this was demonstrated by the unusual search query “what are the factors that you considered in making your decision”. The term showed an increase of 170% during the December/January period.

4. But as with most countries we researched, the resolution to “lose weight” was strong and the search for “how to lose weight fast” showed an increase of 160%.

INDIA

1. Losing weight and ridding the body of excess body fat has to be the number one resolution for Indians. Not only were there more queries around weight loss when searching terms related to weight and weight loss for India (17), but the country had search queries related to reducing belly and butt fat. Furthermore, the country showed a 2 050% search interest increase for the query “belly fat reduction exercise”.

Weight gain, however, was also a New Year's resolution for some with a 70% and 60% increase in searches around “weight gain at home” and “weight gain for women” respectively.

2. A change in diet was another priority resolution for Indians with 13 different search queries on keto, paleo, and even diets for those with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

3. India was one of the few countries for which quitting smoking was a resolution with a 110% increase in “how to quit smoking”.

4. Physical exercise and working out in 2022 is of utmost importance to Indians. There were six search queries around different types of workouts to shape and train the body - with the main interest around bicep, tricep and chest workouts.

5. Unlike most other countries (excluding the United States), India is more aware of their sleep cycles and wants to improve them. The country had three search terms around sleep improvement with a 100% increase in searches for “best direction to sleep”.

UNITED KINGDOM

1. The top resolution for the Brits in 2022 is to change their diet. Search queries around diets, healthy recipes and eating plans were high and reached 29 in total. Queries around Michael Mosley's weight loss diet plans increased by 1 050%. Searches around keto diets were also popular.

2. Exercise and workout searches were also high on the UK's resolution list for 2022. Searches for gyms near Google users' locations and new workouts were among the favorites.

3. Getting rid of belly fat seems to be a must-do for Brits in 2022. There was a breakout increase for the search terms “best exercise to lose belly fat” and “how to lose belly fat fast” as well as a 3 200% increase in searches for “how to lose lower belly fat”.

4. Keeping in line with the trend, the UK also leaned strongly to weight loss goals for 2022 with 24 search queries in that category. Top queries included the “best diet for weight loss” and “how many calories should I eat to lose weight”.

CANADA

1. Just like the Brits, Canadians seem to be most concerned about their diets. However, where the Brits were more concerned about weight loss, Canadians' change in diet seems to be driven by maintaining healthy body weights and habits as the majority of the search increases focused on diets like:

• “low glycemic diet”, (where the focus is on slowly releasing sugars into the body)
• “reverse diet” (where the aim is to steadily reintroduce calories into your diet after initially cutting them to lose weight)
• “low fodmap diet” (a diet focused on relieving bloating and stomach pain)

2. Resistance training and training focused on defining specific parts of the body top the list when it comes to physical exercise resolutions for Canadians. Searches for “TRX workout” increased by 250%. TRX, Total Body Resistance Exercise, is a training method that uses body weight and gravity as resistance to build strength. Other searches were focused on workouts targeting the shoulders, abs and arms.

3. When it comes to beauty resolutions for 2022, hair was the most important focus. Canadians are most keen to stay trendy with hair colors for 2022 - there was a breakout increase for the query "hair color trends 2022". Learning how to thicken and grow hair faster are also important beauty goals for Canadians as searches like “rice water for hair growth” and “hair loss treatment” revealed.

4. Meditating in 2022 is a more popular resolution for Canadians than most other countries as the country's research inquiries showed increases for both morning, before sleep and “10-minute” meditations.

UNITED STATES

1. Weight loss was clearly the number one New Year's Resolution in 2022 for the United States with 48 search queries in this category. This number of search queries is also more for this category than any other country.

2. US men are keener on looking after their skin this year than other nationalities as search terms such as “men’s skincare” and “skin care routine for men” had increases of 150% and 130%, respectively. No other country had these search terms.

3. People from the United States are also most keen on introducing a meditation practice into their daily lives in 2022 as the country had the most inquiries around meditation.

4. Improving sleep and reducing anxiety are also high priorities for people in the United States this year. Search terms related to better sleep predominantly focused on different sleep aids, ranging from eye masks to sleeping pills to sleep sprays.

5. The United States is also more resolute on fasting in 2022 and the United States had 11 search queries in this category. More creative searches in this category such as “dopamine fasting” had a breakout increase in interest over the December/January period.

SOUTH AFRICA

1. Like the Brits, South Africans' main resolution for 2022 is around changes in diet. The search term "plant-based diet" showed an increase of 450% during the December/January period.

2. Fasting was also a favorite, but for South Africans, fasting in 2022 took on a more spiritual approach as the search term “fasting and prayer” (which had an increase of 250%) demonstrated.

AUSTRALIA

1. The top New Year's resolution for Australia was hitting the gym in 2022 - most of the rising/increasing search queries were for local gyms in specific areas.

2. Like most other countries, diet and weight loss were also top goals for the new year. Search terms “how many steps a day to lose weight” and “best way to lose weight fast” had a breakout search increase over the December/January period.

ABOUT THE DATA

The data collected from Google Trends represents searches from the seven above-mentioned countries and relates to the period from 1st December 2021 – 17th January 2022.  

By searching for identical terms related to health and wellness for each country we identified patterns of data and used them to collate the New Year's Resolutions above.

For example, we'd search for the term “work out” and collate the rising queries (search queries that had an increase in searches ) during the specified period. This process would then be repeated for each country using the same search term, which in this example is “work out”. Depending on the type and number of rising search queries around terms like “work out” we were able to surmise the top New Year's Resolutions for 2022.

The top New Year's Resolutions were identified by the number of rising search queries related to that resolution in each country. 

Google defines 'breakout' search terms as those that have had 'a tremendous increase, probably because these queries are new and had few (if any) prior searches.'