By Rory Reynolds
SCOTS women are losing the battle of the bulge with their European sisters – and it’s ruining their holidays.
Two-thirds of Scottish women say they can’t enjoy their trip abroad because they are fretting about their beach bodies – while their French and German counterparts bare all.
New research carried out by women’s gym firm, Curves, has found that 71% of Scottish women feel anxious about wearing a bikini and 63% reckon that this ruins their holiday.
Over 80% of 16-26 year-olds are most apprehensive about stripping off and over 60% of 16-35 year-olds reckoned they are struggling with mounting pressure to be thin.
The study also found that 38% of women want to lose two stones or more.
And 41% of respondents felt besieged by the constant images of perfect celebrity bodies
in the media.
Gill Brady, spokeswoman for Curves, said: “It’s disappointing to see that so many women in Scotland are allowing themselves to spoil their summer holiday by worrying about how they look in their bikini.
Cover up
“Exercising regularly before jetting off can help women not only tone up for the beach but can also significantly boost their self confidence, making them much happier in their own skin and allowing them to really enjoy their hard-earned holiday.”
The study also showed that just three out of 10 say they are happy with their body shape and a whopping 92% want to lose weight to get the ideal figure.
Rebecca Wesley, 29, manager at Bravado Underwear in Morningside, Edinburgh, reckons her customers are covering up more than ever – but says sun not size are the main reasons.
Stripping
She said: “We a have sold a lot more covers ups than usual, like sun dresses, shirts, kaftans and vest tops, but I think that’s more people being worried about the effects of the sun on their skin, than modesty or worries about their shape.
“We have quite a mix of ages and shapes in our client base and it can sometimes be a surprise what they are looking for.
“The trouble is that women may buy more modest swimwear, but when they get to Europe and see what the women there are wearing they regret that they hadn’t gone with the more revealing bikini.”
But there’s no stopping older women when it comes to reigning on the beach.
Just under half of all over 50s had no hang-ups about stripping off when abroad.
