SIZE ZERO!

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Aug 13, 2006 | by SHARON van GEUNS

REMEMBER when women aspired to be a perfect size 10? Well, forget that notion because these days a size 10 is seen as positively obese... at least in Hollywood.

A disturbing new phenomenon is heading across the Atlantic that deems the new ideal size an astonishing size zero - that's a teensy UK size 4.

For girls that means fitting into a pair of jeans with a 22-inch waist - that of an average British eight-year-old.

Yet spurred on by a growing legion of super-skinny celebs including reality show star Nicole Richie, Superman actress Kate Bosworth and our own "skinny icon" Victoria Beckham, size 0 is now touted not only as an attainable, but a must-get goal by dedicated followers of fashion.

The trend is being forged in Los Angeles, where "thin" has long equalled happy but where "size-zero envy" is the new buzz-phrase on people's lips.

In a place that has always been the capital of health and fitness, the coffee and cigarettes diet is back in vogue as youngsters aim to keep their weight dangerously low.

They follow diets with no carbohydrates - there is even skinny sushi, fish wrapped in a lettuce leaf rather than rice. At gyms, working out twice a day isn't unusual. Personal trainers prescribe crazy regimes and cranky diets while cosmetic surgeons perform liposuction as regularly as Botox to remove stubborn curves.

If you compliment someone about their boob job in LA these days you are most likely to be talking about a reduction. The stylist Rachel Zoe has been credited with turning teeny stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie into global fashion icons.

Zoe denies playing any part in glamorising skinny chic but the one thing they all have in common is a super-tiny frame just like Zoe herself.

A whole yindustry has been spawned of doctors, personal trainers, stylists and nutritionists working towards getting women to a 0 or as close as possible. Diet pills are much sought after, with the wannabe skinnies ignoring unpleasant side-effects such as incontinence.

Some stores are even bringing in a smaller size - a 00, reportedly the size of Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, 31. It's equal to a 31in bust, 20in waist, 32in hips.

Experts say the craze is already in Britain. We asked our size 10 model, Alicia (34-24-35, or a size six in the US) to "slip" into size 0 jeans. But she couldn't get them past her thighs.

Marc Jacobs's concession store in Selfridges in London is just one retailer introducing size 0 to British customers.

An assistant busy handing out a tiny pair of size 0 blue trousers to a micro-sized woman said a new breed of customer had flooded through their doors. She said: "I have seen interest go through the roof over the last few months."

British entrepreneur and fashion buyer to stars such as Keira Knightley, Robert De Keyser, is launching the Flora Kung range for Christmas - and includes a size 0.

"Five years ago I would not have offered a size 0. But now there are some very, very thin people out there."

But disturbing websites -"thinspiration galleries" - J have sprung up, showing emancipated "celebs" with pencil-thin arms and exposed rib cages. Health experts fear it will lead to an eating disorder timebomb.

More than a million Brits already suffer, says the Capio Nightingale Hospital's Eating Disorder Clinic. Expert Prof Janet Treasure says: "Being told a size zero is a positive thing, is like society saying it's OK to be anorexic.

"Being this thin can lead to loss of periods, your I hair falling out, dry skin and thinning bones."

IF you're worried about someone with an eating disorder, go to www.capionightingale hospitals.co.uk

features@sundaymirror.co.uk

VICTORIA BECKHAM (5ft 6in)

THE UK's most famous skinny icon said she came close to having an eating disorder while in the Spice Girls. Now 32, she still gets criticism for her tiny frame.

Weight THEN 9st 0lb

NICOLE RICHIE (5ft 2in)

THE co-star of reality TV show The Simple Life, 2 4, recently admitted she was "too thin" and has urged teenagers not to try to slim down to copy her.

Weight THEN 8st 9lb

KATE (5ft 5in) BOSWORTH

THE Superman actress, 23, is said to have lost 20lbs to play a drug addict in Wonderland. Judging by recent pictures, the weight just keeps coming off.

Weight THEN 8st 3lb