While Kelly Brook, the model, was considered to have the best British female body, most women wanted to lose an average of 19lb in weight.

The survey of 5,000 women, conducted on behalf of Grazia, the magazine, found the average woman worries about her body every 15 minutes — more frequently than men think about sex — while 29 per cent worry about their size and shape every waking minute.

Of those questioned in the poll, nine out of ten said that they dieted, with 41 per cent saying they were constantly on a diet. Half admitted to lying about their weight, and almost a third cut size labels out of clothes, the research revealed.

The least popular parts of their bodies are thighs, hated by 87 per cent of those questioned, and waists, disliked by 79 per cent.

More than half of those questioned were also disappointed by their breasts, feet, face, neck, hands and fingers, teeth, hair, chunky arms and legs and “muffin tops” — podgy rolls sticking out over their waistband.

The only parts of the body which fared reasonably well were “slimmish ankles”, which 54 per cent of women liked.

Jane Bruton, Editor of Grazia, said that they were encouraged that women said their ideal weight would be a healthy 9st 2lb, but found the self-loathing among many of great concern.

“British women today are harshly critical of their body shape — in fact 98 per cent of British women hate their bodies,” she said. “As a result, many of us have what is called a normal/abnormal relationship with food and are full of contradictions — we might have a Diet Coke with a doughnut or skip lunch because we’re going out for dinner.

“Many women are constantly thinking, ‘shall I eat it, shall I not eat it’, and, rightly or wrongly, if they step on the scales and find themselves 2lb heavier it can ruin their day.”

Belfast women have the lowest body image in the UK, in particular rating their breasts and teeth worse than anyone else in the country. They are the most likely to lie about how much they eat, and are the biggest “biscuitaholics” in Britain.

Women in Cambridge hate their “muffin tops” the most, and almost two thirds of them think their size or shape spoils their sex life.

Manchester women are the most body-obsessed in the UK, with 97 per cent of them worrying about their body each day — at an average of every 12 minutes.

Seven out of ten women across the country think their lives would improve greatly if they had a better body.

THE BOTTOM LINE

• Since 1951 the average British waist has increased from 27½in to 31in
• The traditional British female body shape — the big-bottomed pear — is much healthier than the thick-waisted, small-bottomed apple shape
• Women store fat in their bottoms to get them through pregnancy, so a rounded bottom is an indicator of a woman’s fertility

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