The Daily Mail
London, UK
Published: 12 December, 2006




We're constantly bombarded with images of shrinking A-list stars, but what's the reality of being a size zero, a UK size four? With a 22-inch waist the shape is striking - as are the health implications. But how would you look? We manipulated the pictures of four ordinary women and STEPHANIE CLARKSON asked them - and their friends and boyfriends - how they thought they looked.




Name: Beth Watkin
Job: Housewife
Lives: Nottinghamshire
Height: 5ft 1in, Weight: 11st 7lb (161lbs)
Bust: 36D, Waist: 34in
Hips: 40in, Thighs: 25in

Beth says:
'I was always plump until I became bulimic aged 17 and lost four stone in eight months. Although I've recovered, my friends and family warned that doing this might cause me to relapse, but it's achieved the opposite.
'As a size zero my arms look undernourished and my face looks sharp and mean - like my personality has been sucked out. 'It scares me that I was once killing myself to look like this - it's served as a warning to stay on track."

Fiance Kirk Bilby says:
'The thin version doesn't even look like Beth - and I definitely couldn't fancy anyone that bony. 'I hope she's finally realised that, in her case, big is beautiful.'

Best friend Helen Whitehead says:
'In the first picture Beth looks beautiful and confident. The second looks like a total stranger - and one who's a complete bore.'




Name: Marie-Louise Doe
Job: Shop assistant
Lives: Worcestershire
Height: 5ft 5in, Weight: 7st 7lb (105lbs)
Bust: 32B, Waist: 24.5in
Hips: 32in, Thighs: 19in

Marie-Louise says:
'Although I'm slim, these photos show a world of difference between my current size and the infamous size zero. I look healthy and slim in the first photo but I'm horrified by the second one.
Why would anyone want to look like this? The way my ribs and collarbones jut out make me look ill - I hate it.'

Boyfriend Russell Collins says:
'In the past I've teased Marie-Louise about being skinny, but having seen what "too thin" really looks like, I'll lay off her. If she lost that amount of weight I'd have huge reservations about her sanity.'

Best friend Laura Collings says:
'I got such a shock when I saw the photo of Marie-Louise as a size zero. Those scrawny thighs made me feel sick.'




Name: Gemma Riley
Job: Promotions
Lives: Berkshire
Height: 5ft 3in, Weight: 9st 4lb (130lbs)
Bust: 34D, Waist: 31in
Hips: 38in, Thighs: 20in

Gemma says:
'I'm not happy with my current shape - I need to lose weight. I don't like either version of me but I prefer the torso of my size zero body -the way the smaller boobs fit into the bra rather than spill out of the sides as they do in real life.
'But I don't like the way my body is just straight up and down in the picture. 'This has shown me that I need to work harder at the gym. I may be fit but I'm not my ideal weight.'

Mum Angie Riley says: 'Gemma has put on weight over the last couple of years and I don't think it suits her. But I don't like her as a size zero - she needs to find a middle ground.'

Best friend Alison Quarnby says:'I think Gemma looks OK as a size zero, except for the scrawny limbs. If I'm honest Gemma is slightly overweight, but the "real" photo shows she has curves in the right places.'




Name: Cassandra Hall
Job: Royal Navy steward
Lives: Plymouth
Height: 5ft 6in, Weight: 9st 11lb (137lbs)
Bust: 34C, Waist: 30in
Hips: 34in, Thighs: 20in

Cassandra says:
'I'm an English pear shape and don't like my legs and bum. So, my first thought when I saw the size zero photo was: "If only I had those thighs."
'They're slender and don't meet. But it would also mean trading in my cleavage, which I love. In the second photo, my chest looks awful, and I hate the twiggy arms.'

Husband Paul Hall says: 'We got married recently and Cass tried to lose weight before, but if she'd turned up looking like this waif, I'd have keeled over at the altar.'

Friend Carly Robinson says:
'It was upsetting to hear Cass preferred her size zero thighs. It look like there's something wrong with the thin girl.'



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...in_page_id=1879

I can't imagine a 20' waist on my 5'8" frame. When I'm real slender it is about 28". I dieted down to 125 once and was a size 8 on top and a size 10 on the bottom. And at that weight I'm bones sticking out on top, ribs, collarbones, wristbones. Size 0... my ass! Doh!

Gives you a different perspective.

I could never be size 0. My bones would prohibit it. That and my boyfriend would freak out at the skeleton he'd be marrying. XD

^Mine too Maerow. Even if I had been in a coma for many years... I don't think I would be a size zero

Wow...interesting......and revealing too....

Beth = 30.4 BMI; 0.85 WHR (obese, higher than desired WHR)
Marie-Louise = 17.5 BMI; 0.77 WHR (underweight, "healthy" WHR)
Gemma = 23.0 BMI; 0.82 WHR (normal weight, higher than desired WHR)
Cassandra = 22.1 BMI; 0.88 WHR (normal weight, higher than desired WHR)

wow. An intriguing demonstration. I like ALL of these women at their original weight better--even the ones who might be considered overweight.

As someone who is about a Size 4 on top, and a Size 10 on the bottom, I think clothing is all about flattering fit, fabulous color, and personal flair, whatever the size.

you and me both. when i'm "thin", i have a victorian hourglass shape to me. my hipbones and ribcage might get me into a 10 or a 12, but that's IT.

I looked sickly enough when I was YOUNG and 120 lbs... a size 7 then, although who knows what size it would be now thanks to vanity sizing... I can only imagine how old and haggard I'd look NOW if I got down that low.

I'd have to be dead for 6-12 months before I could be a size 0. I can only imagine how emaciated I would be......

No thanks!

Julie

The smallest size I remember ever fitting into was a size 13. I think I weight around 155 lbs or 165. And I was not fat by any means.

Size zero is not just a size, it's also a frame. You have to have a petite frame to fit into a size zero and still look human. If you happen to have a larger frame, you'd have to be dead to fit in that size.

Wow...very interesting. Definitely a different perspective. But makes you think about striving for so called perfection. The idea of a 0 sounds fabulous but doesn't look so great---at least not in the examples above.

Wow...based on this I can't imagine how small Eva Longoria is in person--without the added weight TV is said to add to you. She once said she wears a zero or DOUBLE ZERO. YIKES! She MUST be a shorty!

I think that that is something that we do tend to forget about a lot of these size zero celebs ... most of them are very tiny, around 5ft. Nicole Richie is 5.1, the Olsen twins are 5 and 5.1, Eva Longoria 5.1 for example.

At 5.10, I don't think I'd come anywhere close to a size zero, dead or alive!

I'm 5'1" and I don't think I'd look emaciated at a size 0, not that I'm aiming to be that small. I'm currently about a size 4, and still have plenty of flabby bits, despite working out. Clearly height as well as frame size have to be taken into account. We don't all wear the same shoe or glove size, what makes us think we should all wear the same jeans size? It's just silly!

Rachel

I would never want to be a size zero, which is probably good, because I could never be. I'm 5'5" tall. I am large boned (no, really ) When I wieghed 154, I looked great. I fit in a size 10 jeans and a medium shirt. I didn't want to be any smaller, really (which is probably what got me back to this size).