THEY are gorgeous and glamorous – and hungry for fame.
But an exclusive Sunday Mail survey has discovered top female celebrities are literally starving themselves for stardom. With the help of scientist Nilani Sritharan, we checked out some of the biggest names and discovered that all of them wereunderweight.
When Nilani revealed what the acceptable weight range SHOULD be for each celeb, based on their height, all 10 fell short.
And we checked their Body Mass Index – a scale used by doctors to tell if a patient’s weight falls within a healthy range – only Big Brother celeb Kate Lawler managed to scrape above the critical 18.5 limit.
The ultra-slim stars are at risk of damaging their long-term health unless they start eating properly.
Body Mass Index is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.
Anything between 18.5 to 25 in adults is considered healthy, more than 25 is classed as overweight and above 30 is obese.
But obesity is something the women featured here certainly have no fear of.
Low BMIs mean many of them could be left with serious long-term health problems, including osteoporosis and iron deficiency anaemia.
They can also suffer tiredness, irritability and low concentration and it can also lead to problems during pregnancy and children being born with a low birth weight.’
Nutrition scientist Nilani, who is based at the MRC Human Nutrition Research in Cambridge, said: ‘All of these celebrities are underweight.
‘They need to re-introduce a healthy diet to avoid suffering nutrient deficiencies, heart, bone and fertility problems or, worse still, premature death.’
Our findings confirm a survey of medics who warned undernourished stars are setting a bad example about how to lose weight and keep it off while keeping yourself healthy.
A massive 85 per cent of doctors feel Brits who follow celebrities such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman and Victoria Beckham are endangering their long-term health by going on faddy eating plans.
GP Dr Ann Robinson, who helped compile the survey, said: ‘Celebrities are not nutritionists.
‘Many are actually underweight and undernourished but they don’t even realise it.
‘They have a vested interest in looking ‘perfect’ and are often taken in themselves by the latest diet crazes. While such extremes might be okay for those whose livelihoods depend on it, it doesn’t make for a sensible or sustainable healthy living planfor the rest of us.’
But as our findings reveal, the diets are not sustainable or healthy for the super-skinny stars either
Kate Lawler,25
Height: 5ft 7ins # Weight: 8st 8lbs BMI: 18.69THE former Big Brother winner won’t eat carbs in the evening and trains four to five times a week at the gym.
Kate said: ‘I’ve always been a big eater but I stay skinny because I’m so active.’ For breakfast she eats cereal and skimmed milk. Lunch is soup or a tuna jacket potato and dinner is often chicken salad. She said: ‘I never have dessert but I can’t resistbread#Acceptable weight for height: 9st 3lbs – 11st 9lbs Nilani said: ‘It’s good to see Kate doesn’t skip meals but she could improve her fruit and veg consumption and vary her diet a bit more to include more fish and fewer processed foods
Lara Flynn Boyle,35
Height: 5ft 4ins # Weight: 6st 8.5lbs BMI: 15.81SHE may have appeared in Men in Black II with Will Smith but this actress is more famous for her skin and bones figure.
She claims she doesn’t diet and insists she has porridge for breakfast and eats ‘roast beef, peas in mashed potatoes, escargots, caviar, peanut butter and jelly, Pop-Tarts’ – but it’s difficult to believe her.
Lara also says she doesn’t exercise. ‘I just work. I get up at 4am and I’m on my feet most of the day. I like to swim, too#Acceptable weight for height: 8st 5lbs – 10st 8lbs Nilani said: ‘Lara is the most underweight of these celebrities. It’s unlikelyshe is eating well or enough. It can affect fertility, the heart and blood pressure
Nicole Kidman,38
Height: 5ft 10.5ins # Weight: 8st 6lbs BMI: 16.85THE ex-Mrs Cruise keeps herself trim by following the South Beach Diet. But recently, Nicole has looked stick-thin.
She says: ‘I’ve always had this long, lean body type and I haven’t changed since I was 15. I eat healthily but I also love pies and chocolate.’
Many would agree however that she could do with eating a few more pies.
Nicole has cut starches and sugars out of her diet, including dairy produce#Acceptable weight for height: 10st 4lbs – 12st 13lbs Nilani said: ‘By cutting out virtually all carbs and dairy foods, you lose one of the best sources of calcium and nutrientssuch as Vitamin B12 and riboflavin
Donna Air,25Height: 5ft 9ins # Weight: 8st
BMI: 16.65THE former Byker Grove actress tries to eat as much organic produce as possible.
But that hasn’t stopped people accusing her of being anorexic, especially when she regained her size 8-10 figure soon after giving birth to her daughter in 2003. ‘I eat loads,’ she insists. That means brown pasta, brown bread, fruit, veg, pulses, fishand milk. She also does Pilates and swims. Breast-feeding may have helped her get back into shape#Acceptable weight for height: 9st 12lbs – 12st 5lbs Nilani said: ‘High fibre content probably means Donna fills up before she has eaten enough. ‘Good fats’such as olives, avocados and nuts, may help
Eva Herzigova,32Height: 5ft 11ins # Weight: 9st 4lbs
BMI: 18.21EVA loves French, Italian and Japanese cuisines. She drinks plenty of tea and water and eat lots of fruit for breakfast.
She blames ‘stress and travelling’ for her shrinking size, saying: ‘I love food. I’m not even particularly careful about what I eat. I live on bread, cheese and salami. Chips are my favourite#Acceptable weight for height: 10st 6lbs – 13st Nilani said:’Vegetables have anti-cancer agents as well as vitamins and minerals, especially cruciferous veg (broccoli, cauliflower etc) which seem to be lacking in her diet. Judging by her weight, Eva doesn’t eat nearly enough and is missing out on many nutrients
Nicole Richie,23Height: 5ft 1ins # Weight: 6st 9lbs
BMI: 17.48THE Simple Life star is a shadow of her former self. She claims it is down to a healthy balanced diet and increased physical activity.
Her trainer Adam Estner says: ‘Richie now eats more food than before but she eats the right kind.’ She claims she put on weight because she couldn’t exercise in rehab when she being treated for her drug addiction#Acceptable weight for height: 7st 9lbs -9st 9lbs Nilani said: ‘Nicole may be more underweight than her BMI suggests. Increasing physical activity means you can eat more but it’s important to ensure you’re getting enough calories
Teri Hatcher,40
Height: 5ft 6ins # Weight: 7st 6lbs BMI: 16.65DURING her Lois and Clark days Teri was more curvy. Her weight has plummeted since starting on Desperate Housewives.
Some sources claim she is battling an eating disorder. But Teri claims she’s just careful about what she eats, adding: ‘The only thing I’m guilty of is being too athletic and refusing to eat garbage. I eat a lot of fruit.’ She also says she eats grilledchicken, fish and veg#Acceptable weight for height: 8st 13lbs – 11st 2lbs Nilani said: ‘It’s good to ‘go large’ on fruit and veg but carbs, especially whole-grains, seem to be lacking. Pasta, rice, bread and potatoes are a great way of keeping youfeeling fuller for longer
Lindsay Lohan,19
Height: 5ft 6ins # Weight: 8st BMI: 18.07THE star of Mean Girls puts her dramatic weight loss down to illness after she was diagnosed with acid reflux, anaemia, hypoglycaemia, a swollen liver and an infected kidney.
The condition, she claims, led her to lose 28lbs and shrink to a UK size 6.
One website – www.feedlindsay.com – has already seen 200 of her fans sign a petition begging the star to eat. But she claims: ‘Compared to a lot of actresses my age I’m actually over- weight#Acceptable weight for height: 8st 7lbs – 10st 10lbs Nilani said:’Lindsay is putting herself at an increased risk of several diseases, including menstrual problems
Victoria Beckham,31Height: 5ft 6ins # Weight: 8st
BMI: 18.07#Acceptable weight for height: 8st 13lbs – 11st 2lbs Nilani said: ‘Victoria may be excluding dairy foods, whole-grains, fish and red meat which could mean she’s missing out on lots of vital nutrients such as calcium, essential fats, iron and Bvitamins POSH has always snapped back into shape following the birth of each of her three sons .
But it’s her new Mediterranean diet which she believes has really helped her get back into shape. Since the birth of Cruz she’s been living on lots of olives, prawns, chicken, fresh fruit and vegetables such as avocados. Victoria regularly does pilatesand yoga
Renee Zellweger,36
Height: 5ft 4ins # Weight: 7st 7lbs BMI: 18.07After the second instalment of Bridget Jones, Renee relied on a high-protein diet to help shed the pounds.
Carbs are limited because without them, low-carb diet fans claim, your body switches to burning fat for energy.
She also booked herself into the Ashram weight-loss spa in California – where guests must do 12-mile hikes daily – and lost three stone#Acceptable weight for height: 8st 5lbs10st 8lbs Nilani said: ‘A restrictive diet like this would lead to weight lossbut they are deficient in certain nutrients and can cause bad breath and constipation. The long-term effects are totally unknown
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