Shamed into dieting: Slender celebrities cavorting on the beach in bikinis make women feel insecure about their bodies

  • Women want to lose 11lb on average and 82% aim to slim down by summer
  • One in four inspired to fight winter flab by bikini pictures, Asda study says
  • But fewer than one in five men said they hope to lose weight by summer

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 18:24 EST, 21 April 2013 | UPDATED: 11:10 EST, 22 April 2013


The freezing weather has only just come to an end, but already Britons are worrying about the figure they’ll cut on the beach.

Today is the day women are most likely to start their summer bikini diet, according to a study.

On average, women want to lose 11lb, with more than one in four inspired to fight winter flab by bikini pictures of celebrities such as Myleene Klass, Kelly Brook and Denise van Outen.

MYLEENE KLASS SHOWS OFF HER BIKINI BODY WHILE PICTURED ENJOYING A HOLIDAY IN BARBADOS.
Kelly Brook

Bikini diet: On average, women want to lose 11lb, with more than one in four inspired to fight winter flab by bikini pictures of celebrities such as Myleene Klass (left) and Kelly Brook (right)

The poll of 2,000 men and women by supermarket Asda found more than four out of five women (82 per cent) aim to slim down by summer.

Scorching look: More than four out of five women aim to slim down by summer, with many inspired by bikini pictures of Denise van Outen

Scorching look: More than four out of five women aim to slim down by summer, with many inspired by bikini pictures of Denise van Outen

But it’s a different story for men, with fewer than one in five hoping to lose weight.

More than half, or 56 per cent, of women have a weight loss goal of 11lb and, with 13 weeks until school summer holidays, starting today gives them a manageable target of losing just under 1lb a week.

More than a quarter of women polled said seeing celebrity bodies gave them the incentive to diet.

 

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And 15 per cent even admitted to decorating their fridge with celeb ‘thinspiration’ pictures.

Sales of pre-packed salads are up 50 per cent as the nation swaps stodgy winter warmers for light alternatives, and Galia melons are the top diet-friendly snack, with sales up 80 per cent.

Women in their thirties are most likely to start a diet today and plan to lose weight sensibly with healthy eating and exercise.

Meanwhile, those in their twenties confessed to crash dieting and using ‘fad’ weight loss plans in a last minute bid to shape up.

Of men who wanted to lose weight, nearly two-thirds said they wouldn’t be changing their habits until a month before their holiday.

 
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Of course, the DM doesn't go on day after day after day about being thin and showing pictures of skinny so-called celebrities in various stages of nakedness. You do nothing to help people feel good about themselves, nothing at all. I'm fat, and a lot fatter than I was 8 months ago thanks to cancer treatment. I was told at the beginning that it was a good thing that I had meat on my bones as the treatment could've caused the opposite reaction, and was encouraged to eat while having treatment. Now I'm trying to lose a bit of the weight again, but no one has said I have to. Only the DM...

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"Slender celebrities cavorting on the beach in bikinis make women feel insecure about their bodies" -- which is why it's so amazing that most of the photos on the side are under the "femail" section. If and when women get tired of it all, dailymail will be out of business.

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If your self confidence is that low that you're losing sleep over some celebrity's body in a bikini then you need to get your head examined.

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Look at Tumblr, there are hundreds of blogs dedicated to "thinspirtation" photos.

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You don't help with this problem DM!!! Don't act the martyr now.

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Even when i was young (16 /17 ) i knew i did not have a bikini body although i was slim,but then when i got to 19 i started to have issues and began to become anorexic which was off and on for about 10 years... I have a lot of sympathy for young girls and empathise the pressures to have bodies like these celebs who have plenty of money and contacts, i also think men want us to look like that as well...........

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When I see a perfect celeb body I see it for exactly what it is. Hours a day spent at the gym & obsession over diet. I am thin (not extremely tone, but good enough for a mom of 2 in her 40's) I work out 30 minutes a day & eat healthy most of the time. I see their bodies as something I have no desire to work that hard to obtain. No shame here......

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These women have an awful lot more riding on their image than the 'normal' woman. They are getting a hugh some of money to keep their bikini bodies in shape. I t is a completely different story for most women who just struggle to get through their daily lives without the added pressure of being perfect. Seems that men don't feel the same pressure to have the bodies of their sporting idols, unless we're talking darts of course.

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It has been said be some DM readers that a lot of the slimmer and average weighted women's figures no longer have the classic hourglass curves. While others have said that the model figures promoted as ideal in women's magazines are masculine and androgynous. They will be reasons for this but people will need to be Visitors to the web to find out out.

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The number of fat people we see on our streets is frightening. Our children are going to grow up thinking that hugely obese is normal! I saw a 20 stone beggar the other day holding a sign that said " No money for food".

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