Piling on the pounds?: Superdrug scales claim to help you keep trim by giving your weight according to equivalent celebrity

 
Dieting: the scales which give your weight as an equivalent celebrity
Rachel Blundy1 February 2014

Going on a health kick can be a bit of a bore - counting calories and trying to burn off that huge cupcake at the gym quickly starts to drag you down.

But one retailer claims to have put the fun back into dieting with a set of scales that gives your weight according to an equivalent celebrity.

Superdrug's invention uses celebrity names instead of conventional stones and pounds.

Weight loss: the scales (Picture: Superdrug)

It claims to be the first of its kind to gauge a user's weight by referencing a famous person.

The scales are not currently on sale but are being "tested in stores to get customer feedback", Superdrug said.

A spokeswoman for the retailer said: "The aim is to help bring down the barriers that stop people talking about and managing their weight effectively."

Celebrity names to feature at the bottom end of the scales include singer Cheryl Cole, who reportedly weighs just eight stone, and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Other notable personalities include Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis and singers Beyoncé and Ellie Goulding.

Representing some of popular culture's larger women are singer Adele at 14st and The Only Way is Essex star Gemma Collins at 16st.

Melanie Wilson, the retailer's head of health, said: "Our new scales are just one of the ways that the health team here at Superdrug are helping our customers to be more open about discussing their health needs with our in-store healthcare professionals in order to get the expert advice they need in order to lose or maintain weight.

All gone: Beyoncé with her familiar flowing locks during her Mrs Carter Tour at the o2 Arena in April
Joel Ryan/ AP

"For some, weight management can be a daily struggle, but we’ve got a range of products and free services that can help."

But Susan Ringwood, chief executive of eating disorder charity beat, said Superdrug were "wrong" to introduce the scales.

She said: "This type of exploitation of the most toxic aspect of celebrity culture is just wrong in so many ways.

"Of course many people are concerned about maintaining a healthy weight, but inviting a spurious comparison with another person’s supposed weight doesn’t help anyone."

Feminist campaigner Laura Bates from the Everyday Sexism project also criticised the retailer's invention.

She said: "Products like these contribute to the narrow and reductive lens whereby women in the public eye are reduced to their weight and body shape alone.

Getty

"To put female celebrities on a scale of weight as if they are objects rather than human beings is incredibly disrespectful and dehumanising.

"The fact that it is difficult to imagine the same scenario occurring with male celebrities shows how much harder it is for women in the public eye to be valued for their talent and personality."

Celebrities included on the Superdrug scales:

Cheryl Cole - 8st

Kate Middleton - 8st 6lbs

Jessica Ennis - 8st 9lbs

Ellie Goulding - 9st

Beyoncé - 9st 4lbs

Rihanna - 9st 7lbs

Holly Willlougby 10st 2lbs

Christina Hendricks - 11st

Khloe Kardashian - 12st 11lbs

Adele - 14 st

Queen Latifa - 14 st 9lbs

Gemma Collins - 16 st

Melissa McCarthy - 18st

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