THE image of North-East women suffered a battering yesterday when a survey revealed our lasses eat more than women anywhere else in the country.

The survey, published in yesterday's Slimming Magazine, questioned 2,000 women about their eating habits.

It also revealed that: London and South-East women believe it is easier to secure a good job if you are slim and are most likely to resort to cosmetic surgery, and that East Anglia is home to the biggest binge eaters.

Dr Liz Williams, who works at Newcastle University's Human nutrition research centre, said that the findings may mean North-East women eat more because they exercise more.

She said: "You've got to look at the quality of food as much as intake in any case. The North of England, as a whole, often is low in the league in terms of healthy eating but Scotland is usually bottom when it comes to fruit and veg consumption."

Durham University food expert Dr Catherine Panter-Brick was less surprised North-East women apparently eat more than in other parts of the country but said that it was probably poverty-related.