Barbie has been an astronaut, a pilot and a doctor but in the 1960s, all she wanted to do was starve herself to lose weight.

The controversial 'Slumber Party Barbie' was released in 1965, and came with a set of pink scales permanently set to a tiny 110lbs (50kg) and a diet book entitled 'How to lose weight' containing just one instruction: "Don't eat!"

The doll, which also came with pink silk pyjamas, high heel slippers, pink hair curlers and a mirror, has resurfaced after 47 years thanks to a British collector who has posted one for sale on auction website eBay at a price of $59.

The toy — which is outrageous by modern standards — obviously caused a stir at the time too. In 1966 the doll was re-released without the scales, but still toting the diet book with its starvation message.