Girls as young as 12 are living on unhealthy diets in an attempt to look like their pop idols, Irish research suggests.
A survey of 14-16 year old girls by the University of Ulster found some are restricting themselves to low fat foods as part of their obsession to have the same type of figure as Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham.
Cultural pressures such as the media and fashion industry which dictate that thinness equals feminine beauty, lead many girls to become concerned with their body image, a senior lecturer said.
Dr. Chris Strugnell said: "Dissatisfaction with body image is associated with restrained eating and dieting practices, which can lead to nutritional inadequacies and negative psychological states."
"The media and fashion industry have an influencing role with their promotion of ultra slim role models. A cause for concern is the ambiguity between definitions of dieting and healthy living," he added.
A top Dublin modelling agency however, has dismissed claims that the fashion industry is to blame.
Ms Margaret Humphries, owner of Assets Model Agency, which represents Miss World, Rosanna Davidson, said it wasn't fair that models or celebrities were seen as responsible for young girls' concerns about their body image.
"Some models are just very thin, they lead very active lives and do miss meals but they cannot be blamed if these kids go down the same route," said Ms Humphries.
"It's the way fashion is. Go into any High Street store and you'll see short skirts and tops. You just have to be thin to fit into them.
"Most of our girls are a size 10-12. We do have some girls who are a good size 12 and that's just the way they are. A big-boned girl can't be anything else unless she starves herself to death and we certainly wouldn't advocate that," she added.
"We do encourage the girls to eat healthily and go to the gym but most of our models eat like pigs."
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