One in seven 14 and 15-year-old girls now miss a daytime meal on school days and more than one in five miss breakfast.

The survey, of about 200,000 teenagers, found that six out of 10 girls of the same age felt they needed to lose weight.

But analysis found that only 10% were actually overweight.

The numbers of boys skipping meals has also risen. Nearly 10% of 14 and 15-year-old boys miss lunch, and 12% miss breakfast.

Experts have warned that obsessive dieting among young girls trying to emulate models such as Kate Moss can have dangerous consequences later in life.

The findings come from the Schools Health Education Unit, which has been tracking the behaviour of children aged between 12 and 15.

Gambling

The survey speculates that some children may be spending their dinner money on gambling.

The survey found that 10% of 14 and 15-year-old boys play the National Lottery - which is illegal for children under 16.

Among other findings in the survey, which looked at responses from teenagers over the past 12 years, were:

• A marked decline during the 1990s in the frequent consumption of fresh fruit.
• Just over 30% of girls said they read a book on a weekday evening, down from 50% in 1991.
• About 60% of boys played computer games after school.
• Some 30% of 14 and 15-year-old girls smoked during the previous week, up by half since the late 1980s.
• About 40% of 14 and 15-year-old boys had drunk some beer or lager during the previous week.
• About a quarter of 14 and 15-year-olds said they had tried an illegal drug in 1998, but the percentage had been dropping for the past two years.
• About 10% of 14 and 15-year-olds said they were regular users of a drug - usually cannabis.