The Skinny on Hollywood's Unreal Ideal

• Dec 31, 2007 09:20 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

In Part 2 of TVGuide.com's Body Talk series, we investigate how stars respond to the pressures to be thin in Hollywood.

Nowadays, the issue of weight seems to be everywhere. And just like the rest of us, stars come down on all sides of the subject. The controversy over Jennifer Love Hewitt's bikini pictures inspired lots of her peers to speak out on her behalf, including Janice Dickinson, who in the next breath condemned her former colleague with the catty comment, "You want to see someone who's fat? Tyra Banks is fat." Some stars espouse an accept-yourself philosophy, while others are preoccupied with staying thin at all costs.

Some celebrities - like Kate Bosworth, Mary-Kate Olsen, Lindsay Lohan and Keira Knightley - seem to equate a lower number on the scale with success. The good news is that many of these super-slim stars seem to be doing much better lately. Bosworth, for example, appears to be showing off a far healthier physique these days. New Hollywood resident Victoria Beckham shared with Heat magazine that she "became obsessed" with her image. "I would look in the mirror and check the size of my bottom. I began living on vegetables and nothing else. It never occurred to me that I had an eating disorder." But after Posh was diagnosed with a medical condition, she says, "I did start eating more."

Others have spoken out about the unrealistic skinniness trend in Hollywood. Kate Winslet, who was furious with a British magazine's claim that she saw a diet doctor earlier this year, feels strongly about weight obsession. "I will continue to say what I feel about this issue of women being thin and emaciated. It's just out of control," she told People in 2005. "I know that I have a real woman's figure. I refuse to conform. I don't starve myself." Grey's Anatomy star Chandra Wilson is unapologetic for her full figure. And New Jersey native Queen Latifah told Extra that she doesn't play the Hollywood image game: "I lose weight when I feel like it. I never try to lose [it] for someone else," she said.

The constant presence of photographers and gossip-mag stories doesn't help matters. American Idol's Kellie Pickler saw tabloid pictures as a wake-up call and began stocking her dressing room with fruit and vegetables. She advises, "If you don't like your body, quit complaining! Go to the gym."

For most people, going to the gym is a reasonable plan. But sometimes that just isn't enough. Some public personalities, like Today's Al Roker, have spoken out about having had gastric bypass surgery to improve their health. Onetime talk-show host Ricki Lake became half her size by changing her eating habits. Current talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, whose size has fluctuated dramatically, espoused a healthy-eating, healthy-living philosophy and maintained her weight until a recent thyroid condition slowed down her metabolism.

Though many stars watch their diets, hit the gym and go through major transformations for red-carpet events or post-pregnancy pictures, some get caught up in weight issues for work. Actors like Tom Hanks, Christian Bale, George Clooney, Denzel Washington and Renée Zellweger have all drastically altered their sizes for movie roles. Zellweger, who has packed on the pounds for both Bridget Jones flicks, actually fears a third installment, telling the U.K.'s Daily Mail, "My body is whacked every time we finish one of those. It thinks there's supposed to be a baby and there's no christening."

Wherever the stars come down on the weight issue, one thing's for sure: They're not the only ones feeling the pressure to be thin, and it's not always easy. When we polled readers about whether losing weight was one of your New Year's resolutions, 55 percent of you said, "Yup, just like last year, and the year before that." Another 20 percent of you said you were making the resolution this year. But not everyone's on the get-thin bandwagon: Nearly a quarter of you said losing weight was "never" one of your New Year's resolutions. - Megan Cherkezian

What's your take? Do some celebrities go too far in trying to stay thin? Should more stars speak out like Kate Winslet and Chandra Wilson about accepting your natural size? What's your take on gastric bypass surgery?

More in the Body Talk series:
" Photo gallery: Is 50 the New 30?
" 50ish (and Up) and Fabulous!
" Photo gallery: Nip/Tuck Isn't Just a TV Show
" Nip/Tuck Isn't Just a TV Show
" Photo gallery: The Skinny on Hollywood's Unreal Ideal
" TVGuide.com's Top 20 Beauty Scandals and Stories of 2007
" Photo gallery: Top 10 Hollywood Beauty Scandals & Stories of 2007
" Photo gallery: Top 10 TV Beauty Scandals & Stories of 2007
" Special Preview and Polls

Coming soon in Body Talk:
" Getting Red-carpet-ready with the Stars
" A Q&A with TV Guide Network's own red-carpet queen, Lisa Rinna

Find out all the fascinating details about what stars do to get - and stay - thin in The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets from Amazon.com.