Sydney, Mar 27 (IANS): Failed your New Year resolution again? Join the club as a new research suggests that despite having the best intentions, two thirds of participants gave up on their New Year resolutions within the first month.

The study also revealed that approximately half the people surveyed had the same, or nearly the same, resolution as in the previous year, and more than half of the resolutions listed focused on either diet or exercise.

More than half of the resolutions focused on either diet (29 per cent) or exercise (24 per cent). Approximately two thirds (64 per cent) of the listed resolutions were described as 'general'.

A general resolution referred to an overly general or vague resolution (e.g. to get fit), said the researchers, including Joanne Dickson from the Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia.

For the study, published in the journal Environmental Research and Public Health, the team investigated personal goal factors that predicted greater wellbeing and sticking with one's most important New Year resolution over time.A

Around 180 Australian and UK participants took part in an online survey over a two-month period. The average age of participants was 37 years and ranged from 18 to 77 years.

Despite participants reporting a strong commitment to their most important New Year resolution and a belief that they would succeed, about two thirds of participants gave up within one month.

Dickson said this might be because many of the participants set general resolutions like they wanted 'to get fit' or 'exercise regularly', rather than setting specific resolutions and plans.