Midriff Crisis

Gee, no kidding?

An hourglass figure is more than just a fancy of fashion. Scientists believe the waspish waist has "universal and timeless appeal" that crosses a variety of generations and cultures.

....The research is based on analysis of almost 350,000 works of fiction from Britain and the U.S.

....They then repeated the experiment with ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana between the 1st and 3rd century and Chinese dynastic Palace poetry between the 4th and 6th century.

They found breasts received the most mentions, cropping up 219 times. However, on only 16 occasions was the shape or size referred to as well.

There were however 66 references to waists - with every single one specifying a slim waist.

This was important because it showed waists were considered attractive, regardless of culture and before the influence of mass media.

Which is bad news for all those Bridget Jones diarists in the UK:

The findings, however, do not bode well for the average British woman whose shape is leaning more towards apple than hourglass.

Her waist size has ballooned by four inches in the past 20 years to around 34in.