A third of women questioned could not bear to purchase clothing in the correct size; almost two-thirds avoided their own reflections. Over a third had rejected sex due to body horror, while just under half avoid exercise in public believing this inappropriate for a woman over a size 14 (the UK average being a 16). We were, it appeared, in the grip of a self-consciousness epidemic transforming British womanhood into a collection of work-shy agoraphobics. If this self-hatred is a negative influence on adult women, then it is even more terrifying among girls. Thinness rather than good grades would appear to be the universal pre-pubescent goal, “fat” the ultimate playground insult. Girls as young as five now routinely worry about their weight, said a parliamentary report last year, while half of 14-year-old girls have been on a diet to change their body shape.