Slimmers give up dieting in winter London - Agencies Many people put on weight in winter as they go into \"diet hibernation\", according to a survey. Among 2,000 people questioned, at least three-quarters of slimmers admit they will pile on the pounds as cold season comes. They are also more likely to give the gym a miss, the survey for natural weight-loss aid XLS-Medical Fat Binder revealed. Over half of people (54 per cent) surveyed confessed to eating more comfort food than normal when it turns cold. And 35 per cent put weight on because of the social occasions involving food such as Halloween, bonfire night, the office Christmas party and Christmas Day. \"It is all too easy to make excuses when we know our waistlines are going to be covered up for a few months,\" the Daily Express quoted leading dietitian Helen Bond, a consultant to the free XLS-Medical online weight management programme, as saying. \"Aim to strike a balance with what you eat and drink,\" she suggested.