Women Still Aiming For Size Zero

A beautiful size?

More than one in five women between the ages of 18 and 24 want to be a size zero, according to a new poll.

A body image survey revealed in June's WeightWatcher's magazine also found that women struggled to identify a size zero - a size four in UK sizing - model from a line-up of six differently-sized women, with only 3% getting it right.

Out of the poll of more than 1,200 women, 900 of those surveyed estimated the size zero model as between a size 8 and 12.

Six images were presented to women for the survey,ranging from a UK size 4 (US size zero) to a UK size 26.

When asked to guess the sizes of the larger models, the women surveyed tended to underestimate, with more than half the women saying the size 26 model was one or two sizes smaller.

Londoners also seemed to prefer the thinner version, with 20% of respondents in the capital believing men find size zero women most attractive, compared with 11% in the North and Scotland.

Just 5% of women in the capital chose the size zero as the unhealthiest body shape compared with 16% of those in the Midlands and Wales.

Almost a quarter of women in these regions said men would find a size 16 the sexiest body shape but only 17% of Londoners agreed.

Mary Frances, editor of Weight Watchers magazine, said: "Despite all the coverage of obesity and the size zero debate, many of us we still don't recognise what is a healthy weight.

"And it's interesting to discover that location affects body image as well as house prices."