One thing I have noticed in my time is that the majority of women are not happy with thier body. Media images of women are getting more and more unrealistic and many now feel that they are 'not ideal' - even those who are close to that artificial ideal. Whether it is weight or breast size or hip/waist shape most women have something they hate and none of them take 'no, really, you are beautifully sexy' as an answer to the question 'does my bum look big in this?'

This is a shame as body shape is something that is partly genetic. Ok, you can make yourself horribly obese by eating badly and not exercising and that is correctable with discipline but if you are 'a little chunky round the middle' then you may well be that shape because of genes.

Trinny and Suzannah (two fashion gurus here in the UK) have been crusading on this issue for a while and have come up with some more comprehensive 'body shapes' than previously available - many of them variations on existing ones. For example there is 'The cello' which is a variation of the traditional 'hourglass'. Their book (which I think is called 'The Bodyshape Bible') covers how to dress no matter what your shape, condones dressing to complement your shape rather than trying to dress to fashion and encourages confidence in your shape.

As for my opinion? I like larger women. Many men do. And *most* men will admit to liking women who have a little bit of fat on them (especially round the front ) rather than an annorexic stick. Healthy is better than not healthy. Also, personality can make up for a lot.

And I know diet advice was not asked for but I will give this piece. The best diet advice I can give (as someone who has studied health to a certain extent) is to do it slowly and steadily (never crash diet as it leads to a faster return to original size), to eat regularly but reduce portion sizes and to exercise regularly. The exercise is the key as it means you not only burn off excess calories but also tone up muscles which means you often carry your weight better.