Before and after: Jessica's natural hourglass figure, left, and the skinny airbrushed version as she posed for Campari.

Airbrushed images of glamorous celebrities should be labelled in a bid to tackle “damaging and unrealistic pressures” on young women, Britain’s biggest girls’ group said today.

A campaign calling on the Government to introduce compulsory labelling on “touched-up” pictures in magazines has been launched by Girlguiding.

The group said half of 16 to 21-year-old girls consider having surgery to change the way they look.

And 42 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds admit to watching what they eat, the group said.

Liz Burnley, of Girlguiding UK, said: “We know how profoundly they feel the pressure to conform to a particular body image and how badly they can be affected by these unobtainable ideals.

“We are proud to support the calls of our members who believe that it is time that the Prime Minister addressed their concerns and acted in the interests of girls and young women across the country.”

Susan Ringwood, of eating disorder charity Beat, said: “Young people with eating disorders tell us that being surrounded every day by pictures of unnaturally ‘perfect’ bodies makes their own recovery so much more difficult to achieve.

“We know the difference it would make to all young people’s self-esteem and body confidence if they could be sure which of the images they see are natural and true to life.

“We are committed to working with Girlguiding UK and others to make this important call to action a reality.”

Singer Javine backed the campaign, saying: “Girls need to learn to be confident with their bodies.

“They need to cherish themselves from their heads to their tip toes, embracing both their beauty and their flaws.

“Growing up is hard, and girls can often become influenced by unrealistic pictures which depict how women should look, not how they do.

“Such pictures can often destroy the confidence which should be helping girls blossom into tomorrow’s leading women.”