Women too shy to strip

It's easy if you've got a figure like Sophia Loren.

But in the real world, women are not quite so confident about their bodies.

Even in the privacy of their own bedrooms and in the company of the one they love, many are too shy to shed their clothes.

One in five women feels uncomfortable undressing within sight of their husbands or boyfriends, a survey reveals.

A similar proportion refuses to have sex with the lights on or wear racy underwear because they are unhappy with their figures.

An overwhelming 71 per cent are dissatisfied with their weight and shape, with stomachs and thighs named as the worst offenders.

Half of the 1,500 women questioned said lack of confidence in their figures had made them inhibited in their sex lives.

Four in ten revealed they don't even let their partner touch parts of their body they dislike.

And almost half (49 per cent) said they would be prepared to have cosmetic surgery to improve their figure. Tummies were mentioned by 41 per cent as their pet hate and thighs by 30 per cent.

Debbie Djordjevic, of the women's lifestyle website handbag.com, which commissioned the survey, said: 'It seems women

still lack confidence in their body shape due to their idealisation of achieving a size 8 or 10.'

Several celebrities have recently revealed how poor body image makes getting undressed a humiliating experience.

Television presenter Anne Diamond said that years of 'dieting misery' made her feel her body was 'letting her down'.

'You dread being asked out to dinner,' she said. 'You hate shopping for clothes. You can't relax when you're naked. And what about sex? You dread the thought of meeting someone because he will have to see your body.

'Some women even stay with horrible husbands because their body image is so low that they feel they will be unattractive to anyone else.'

Vanessa Feltz tried desperately to shed weight believing it would help her hang on to her former husband, surgeon Michael Kurer.

'I was changing in the bathroom because I thought he was physically repelled by me,' she said.

Fitness expert Dax Moy believes the solution to low esteem about your body lies in having a 'healthy attitude' to life.

'Most women, no matter what size they are, feel pressure to

achieve a "perfect" body,' he said 'The point is that body confidence comes from adopting a healthy attitude towards your body, having realistic goals and tailoring nutrition and exercise approaches to each individual's unique requirements.'

The quest for physical perfection has seen a huge increase in demand for cosmetic surgery and record spending on beauty products. Last year British women spent £1.3billion on treatments.

The survey showed that 22 per cent would not undress in front of their partner and 21 per cent would not make love with the lights on. Sixteen per cent said they were too shy to wear sexy underwear. Three quarters of women said they were a dress size 8, 10, or 12 but the same proportion wanted to be either a size 10 (41 per cent) or a model size 8 (31 per cent).

Eighty per cent believed that achieving their ideal dress size would make them more confident about their shape. Six in ten admitted to buying an item of clothing that was too small to avoid going up a size. Despite the enormous popularity of diets such as Atkins or Weightwatchers, the survey showed that 90 per cent of women have more belief in exercise and healthy eating.

But when it came to putting their beliefs into practice, they were not so focussed. Only 35 per cent said they ate well-balanced meals and exercised regularly.