Most women 'want plastic surgery'

Madonna inspires many women, survey found

Two thirds of women are so unhappy with their body that they would undergo plastic surgery to achieve the perfect look, a survey suggests.

Of the 3,000 women questioned, 90% said their body made them feel "down".

And almost three-quarters think about their size and shape every day, the survey by Top Sante magazine found.

Plastic surgery - top five procedures

Liposuction - 55%

Tummy tuck - 47%

Lines around the eyes/shape of the eyes - 24%

Breast enlargement - 21%

Face-lift - 19%

Madonna was voted to be the most inspirational woman in terms of looking good, and Dawn French was voted to have the worst body.

The best looking man was voted to be Sean Connery, and the worst Chris Evans.

The survey found women thought the perfect female body was made up of Catherine Zeta Jones' face, Jennifer Aniston's hair, Liz Hurley's bust, Elle Macpherson's legs and Jennifer Lopez's bottom.

The ideal man was made up of Brad Pitt's face, David Ginola's hair, Robbie Williams' chest, Mel Gibson's bottom and David Beckham's legs.

The survey also found the top five most hated parts of women's bodies were, in order, hips and thighs, bottom, waist, legs and arms.

Almost two-thirds said their sex lives would be better if they achieved their ideal shape.

Three-quarters of women who have had plastic surgery think it has improved their lives, and 71% would do it again - but four out of 10 said the results from operations they had already had were not as good as they expected.

Diet

Eighty-six per cent of women said they had dieted at some time, with one in 10 admitting to permanently being on a diet.

Dawn French : Voted worst body

A third have tried slimming pills or fasting as a quick way to lose weight, with 18% taking laxatives.

Twenty-eight per cent admitted to anorexic tendencies, 32% to bulimic tendencies and 73% said they binged.

And nine out of 10 women think "big" members of both sexes are unattractive.

Half of women said they were unhappy with their breasts, and 90% say they have cellulite.

The perfect female body

Catherine Zeta Jones' face

Jennifer Aniston's hair

Liz Hurley's bust

Elle Macpherson's legs

Jennifer Lopez's bottom

In terms of growing old, it is hitting 50 not 40 which now fills women with dread.

They think the peak age for women is 32, with men reaching the height of their attractiveness at 35.

Julliette Kellow, editor of Top Sante, said: "British women are obsessed with their bodies, and it is spoiling their lives.

"For almost 40 years, being attractive has been equated with being thin.

"But women's desire for body perfection is no longer a weight issue - the majority of normal and underweight women answering our survey are still unhappy with their bodies."

The perfect male body ...

Brad Pitt's face

David Ginola's hair

Robbie Williams' chest

Mel Gibson's bottom

David Beckham's legs

Dr Joan Brunton, of the Eating Disorders Unit at St George's Medical School, told BBC News Online: "A lot of women want to be thinner, and the ideal is thin.

"And women think their bodies are infinitely malleable. Most women can't change their shape and it's unusual to be that thin."

Gill Todd, clinical nurse specialist at the Bethlem Hospital in south London, said: "The message women get is that we need all our bones showing, and we need to be thin, so only then can we be happy and successful."