And with those surveyed ranging in age from 18 to 65, it's not just teenage girls who are plagued with insecurities about their appearance.
What's even more disturbing is the fact that almost all of those polled were within the normal weight range -- or even underweight. Among them:
- 16% would trade 1 year of their life
- 10% would trade 2-5 years of their life
- 2% would trade 6-10 years of their life
- 1% would trade 21 years or more of their life
Many women are also willing to make other crazy sacrifices to look perfect:
- 13% would take a £5000 cut in their annual salary
- 8% would pass up a promotion at work
- 9% would give up spending time with their partner and friends
- 7% would give up spending time with their family
- 7% would sacrifice their health
- 6% would forego a first class honors degree
Most of those surveyed also admit they have body image problems. More than 9 in 10 reported having negative thoughts about their appearance, and 31 percent said they have these negative thoughts several times a day:
- 79% of women reported they would like to lose weight, even though they're not overweight. Only 3% wanted to gain weight.
- 39% of women would opt for cosmetic surgery if money wasn't an issue. Of these, 76% wanted multiple surgical procedures, and 5% already had cosmetic surgery done.
The research was conducted for the eating disorder charity The Succeed Foundation, and the stats are pretty shocking to say the least. Certainly enough to get experts to beg the question: Are we really getting more obsessed with our appearance? Are more women becoming preoccupied with super-thin figures and plastic surgery? What's your view on this? Take our poll now.