People shed pounds during recession when no diet and gyming worked for many.

In just three years after the 2007 financial crisis happened, many overweight people became half their size, according to a study by Arizona State University.

Researchers were utterly confused to see waistlines slimming down as they had expected them to bloat as recession hurt family incomes. According to earlier studies, people who do not have much money go for food that have high calorie content and that is a reason that researchers thought would have added to waistlines.

There is no explanation on why studies state that less money means becoming fat and academics do not yet know why the most recent research appears to suggest this.

Information was gathered from about 350,000 adults in the US and on this the findings of the researchers were based. Height and weight were sought by researchers for calculating their body mass index, BMI, or height to weight ratio.

Arizona researchers said, "In all but the poorest income group the annual increase in BMI decelerated substantially during the recession. There is little evidence that the economic downturn has exacerbated obesity by causing people to consume cheaper foods."