These startling revelations were the result of an online survey conducted by SELF Magazine and researchers from the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine.

The survey has also revealed that as many as 75 percent of the 4,023 respondents queried about their food habits, eat, think and behave abnormally around food and this was across the whole racial and ethnic representation and not limited to any one group.

Cynthia R. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, says most surprising was the unexpectedly high number of women who engage in unhealthy purging activities.

It appears that more than 31 percent of women in the survey, in an attempt to lose weight, had resorted to induced vomiting, taken laxatives, diuretics or diet pills at some point in their lives - and more than 50 percent engaged in purging activities at least a few times a week, and many did so on a daily basis.

The women commonly reported skipping meals altogether, smoking to stay slim, being overly vigilant with regard to calories and avoiding carbohydrates, among their eating behaviours.

The survey also revealed that 67 percent of women were trying to lose weight and 53 percent of dieters, already at a healthy weight, are still trying to lose weight.

Possibly more of a concern was that 39 percent of women say worrying about what they eat or weigh affects their happiness.

Professor Bulik will present the survey findings next month at the Academy for Eating Disorder ™ 2008 International Conference on Eating Disorders in Seattle and the survey will be published in the May issue of SELF Magazine.

They recommend that women who are diabetic seek medical help at least three months before they plan to have a baby so doctors can help them control their blood sugar and increase their intake of folic acid.

Lead author Jean Lawrence, a research scientist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California says there are things women can do before they become pregnant that will increase the likelihood of them having a healthy baby, including controlling blood sugar levels with an insulin pump, and maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine.

Overweight women are encouraged to shed some pounds before getting pregnant.

According to the American Diabetes Association about 15 million people in the United States are diagnosed with diabetes, and 1.5 million new cases were diagnosed in people age 20 and older in 2005.

The study appears in the journal Diabetes Care.