Each year without fail, millions of British women put getting in shape top of their New Year's resolutions lists, though come February, a night in front of the television becomes a more attractive proposition than an evening in the gym and a lunch of fresh fruit everyday loses its initial appeal.

While a little bit of excess weight never really harmed anyone, far more worrying is the large number of women who are financially overweight and who, just like the occasional dieters, lose the necessary degree of self-discipline as soon as the first month of the year is coming to an end.

Of course, poor personal finances and high levels of debt is an issue affecting almost everyone in the UK to some degree or another.

However, according to new research, it is women who are the most "financially overweight", largely as a result of their relative lack of focus when it comes to keeping on top of all things money-related.

Basing its conclusions on what financial products a person holds, how competitive these products are and how often they shop around for a better deal, the study commissioned by Abbey found that 46 per cent of women questioned were overweight in comparison to 41 per cent of men.

Tipping the scales for the female sex is the fact that one third have currently not got their mortgage at a competitive rate, one quarter have not shopped around for cheaper and better value insurance policies and 70 per cent of women have no savings or just enough to maintain their current standard of living for less than three months.

According to Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of mortgages at the bank, one of the reasons for this financial obesity could be the fact that women have less free time than men and are juggling different things, including family life, a full-time career and looking after a home.

Furthermore, she added that many women are still not that confident when it comes to money matters and have perhaps relied upon male partners or family members to get them the best deal.

Though the figures do make relatively worrying reading, the vast majority of women are able to get their finances back on track simply by taking a few simple steps.

"There’s certainly more that we can all do to improve our financial fitness," Ms Audhlam-Gardiner explained.

"It’s all about discipline, in the same way that you can be physically disciplined if you decide to get physically fit."

Alongside looking online to compare mortgage deals – easily the most important step given the size of the financial commitment involved – ladies should ask themselves if they really need a credit card or can they switch their borrowings to make their money work for them?

As the expert concluded, every little step taken is a step towards financial freedom.

"If you cut it up into those bite-size chunks – so you really start off by putting in an hour a week – it doesn’t become a big mountain to climb…and you can really stay on top of your finances."