MILLIONS of women suffer from such a negative body image they refuse to leave the house or go to work, a study claimed yesterday.

They may feel too fat or too ugly and this lack of confidence about their looks and figures means a huge loss of self-esteem.

As many as eight million British women have cancelled appointments because of their appearance.

And employers lose an estimated £114.4million every year due to "negative body image" sick notes.

The findings - from a study of more than 1,000 women - give a startling insight into behaviour caused by low self-esteem and negative body image.

A third of women are so self-conscious about their figures they cannot bring themselves to buy clothes in the right size.

Two-thirds say they are so embarrassed by their bodies that they deliberately avoid their own reflections...continued