And the all-time ‘Best Celebrity Body’ award goes to…

The nominations included ultra-slim stars Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss and Twiggy but a national poll to find the all-time ‘Best Celebrity Body’ found that when it comes to body shape, curvy takes the best award, as queen of the hourglass Kelly Brook scooped the top prize, followed by shapely Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren.

Conducted ahead of Sunday night’s BAFTA awards as celebrities across the country prepare to slip into their evening gowns, the Slimming World and YouGov poll of 2,340 people shows that the UK’s obsession with size zero is definitely over. While curvy stars topped the list of celebrity beauties from the last 50 years, ultra slim celebs like Kate Moss, Madonna and Twiggy finished in the lower regions, with Victoria Beckham bottom of the poll.

Jenny Caven, Slimming World spokeswoman, says: “Curves are back! It’s a trend that we’ve seen growing in recent years and our poll shows that men and women prefer shapelier woman, with Kelly Brook scoring top marks with both sexes. The tables have definitely turned which is good news for many women who are a size 12 or 14. It’s especially good news for young girls to have women with healthy body shapes as the ideal.

“Of course healthy women come in all shapes and sizes and while we’re seldom happy with the size of our hips, it’s so important to our confidence, self-esteem and happiness that we feel comfortable in our own skin. That’s why at Slimming World we encourage women to set their own goal weight – we never dictate what weight they should be.

“Recognition of achievements and the support of their peers is part of what makes award ceremonies like the BAFTAS so special to people in the film industry, and it’s also what drives our successful slimmers in group as they share their achievements and are publically praised by their fellow members every week. When it comes to successful weight loss that feeling of support is at least as important as a healthy, satisfying and varied diet, without restriction or deprivation. Tomorrow’s BAFTAS might be full of glamour, but by helping women to improve their self confidence and giving them the freedom to set the target weight that they are happy with, we can help them see the beauty in themselves as they discover their own perfect body shape – whatever size that may be.”

Perfect celebrity body shape*

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For further information or opportunity to speak to the authors of the report, please contact the Slimming World press office on 01773 546101 or 01773 546037 or email: public.relations@slimming-world.com

Notes to Editors

• The National Slimming Survey 2011 was conducted by Slimming World and YouGov, and polled a nationally representative sample of 2,384 people about their weight and measurements, eating habits, activity levels, relationships, likes and dislikes, family, attitudes and behaviours. The results provide a comprehensive picture of obesity in the UK.
• Slimming World is the largest and most advanced slimming organisation in the UK. Margaret Miles-Bramwell (OBE, FRSA) founded the company in 1969 and there are now more than 7,300 groups held weekly nationwide via a network of nearly 3,000 Slimming World trained Consultants.
• 400,000 members attend Slimming World every week and achieve outstanding success.
• Members lose 17,857 stones every week: 2,551 stones every day, over 106 stones every hour, that’s 1 stone 10 lbs lost every minute of every day with Slimming World.
• Slimming World pioneered referral schemes in the UK and actively supports the building of partnerships with the NHS and local authorities to develop effective strategies to manage overweight and obesity in the community. Slimming World works with university researchers and specialists in an active research programme to further knowledge of the causes and treatment of obesity.
• Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, Food Optimising?, and the principles behind Slimming World’s philosophy are based on a deep understanding of the challenges faced by overweight people. Slimming World integrates practical, up-to-date dietary advice with a highly developed support system.
• Slimming World Consultants receive specific training in dietary aspects and the role of physical activity in weight control. The highly developed training focuses on facilitating behaviour change in a group environment, acknowledged by experts as being the most effective way to support long-term weight management.