We'd rather be thick and thin

Last updated at 07:53 10 January 2006


If you offered the average woman the chance to be brighter, she would probably say yes.

But only after she was granted a slimmer figure, bigger bank balance and dinner with her favourite celebrity. In that order.

Ninety-five per cent of women put a leaner figure ahead of intelligence when researchers asked about their wish lists. And over half put it ahead of everything else, including the prospect of having no money worries.

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In a typical day, over a third of those questioned spent more time worrying about their weight than their finances or job.

Nearly a quarter fretted more about their figures than families.

Researchers found a third had lied to their friends about their weight. One in four had tried to deceive her partner about her dress size.

Trying on clothes in a communal fitting room topped the list of most-dreaded experiences, ahead of a visit to the dentist and looking for a new job.

The survey was commissioned for tescodiets.com, the supermarket chain's on-line dietary service. "Women's role models tend to be models and actresses, so there is more emphasis than ever placed upon physical perfection," said Barbara Wilson, head of nutrition for the website. "These statistics reveal just how much pressure women feel there is to be slim in today's society."

Two British businesswomen known for their brainpower dismissed the survey findings.

Nicola Horlick, the investment banker nicknamed Superwoman for juggling a City career with a large family, was appalled.

"It has not been my experience that women aspire to minimise their brains," she said.

Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of the lingerie chain Ann Summers, was scathing. "This survey is dumbing down women," she said. "But women can afford to have smaller brains as they are so much bigger than men's anyway."

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