Pressure for brides to look good 'prevalent'

A recent report in Newsweek magazine highlighted the lengths that US women are going to in preparation for their wedding day, including teeth-straightening, Botox and extreme dieting.

It cited academic research that found that 70 percent of US women who were engaged were trying to lose weight for their wedding, and a further 20 percent were closely monitoring their weight.

Of those who were trying to lose weight, more than 20 percent were taking an approach that the researchers perceived as "extreme", including downing laxatives, vomiting after meals and adopting a new-found smoking habit as a way to stave off hunger pangs.