Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi goes on a diet
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-19 19:27

Italy's image-conscious leader Silvio Berlusconi, who has undergone a face lift and a hair transplant since becoming premier, has begun a diet.

``From today I am on a diet,'' Berlusconi told reporters late Wednesday, news agencies ANSA and Apcom reported.

The 68-year-old premier said he made a bet with a fellow lawmaker from his Forza Italia party that he could lose 5 kilograms (11 pounds) within a month.

Berlusconi, a media baron who is Italy's richest man, emerged from a monthlong absence last year and announced had undergone plastic surgery around the eyes.

Months later Berlusconi confirmed rumors that he had also undergone a hair transplant, and said he was pleased with the results.

``When I look at myself in the mirror, I must feel that my looks on the outside correspond to my youth on the inside, which is absolute,'' he told reporters in December.

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