NEW YORK, January 4 /PRNewswire/ -- www.BeautifulPeople.com, the dating and networking community with a strict ban on ugly people, has thrown out over 5,000 members from around the world who have put on weight during the holiday season with the US, UK and Canada losing the most members.

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The drastic measures took place after many members posted photos of themselves celebrating Christmas and the New Year - revealing that they have let themselves go.

Vigilant members, who take pride in the standards demanded by the site, called for action.

Greg Hodge, managing director of BeautifulPeople.com, says: We responded to complaints by moving the newly chubby members back to the rating stage. This is the same as having them re-apply.

Their re-applications were reviewed by existing members and only a few hundred were voted back in. Over 5,000 were rejected.

Robert Hintze, founder of BeautifulPeople.com, said: As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld. Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.

The following list shows the countries where most overweight people were expelled from:

1) USA: 1,520 2) UK: 832 3) Canada: 533 4) Poland 510 5) Germany: 425 6) Italy: 402 7) France: 323 8) Denmark: 220 9) Turkey: 176 10) Russia: 88

Greg Hodge explains: Every year we see that some of our members from western cultures eat and drink to excess over the holidays and clearly their looks suffer.

The USA has been grossly over-indulging since Thanksgiving - it's no wonder that so many members have been expelled from the network. We hope they will be back after shedding the festive pounds.

In the UK and Canada, Christmas and the New Year are all about over-eating, over-drinking and watching TV on the sofa.

As ruthless as it may sound, BeautifulPeople.com has been kind in breaking the news to former members. Each has received an email encouraging them to re-apply when they are back looking their best, with details of recommended boot camps including Warrior Fitness in New York, Camp Technique Los Angeles, NuBeginnings in the UK and Mystic Adventures which operates throughout Europe.

All unsuccessful applicants and expelled members are able to re-apply at any time.

The site is free to join.

Further information:

BeautifulPeople.com is the largest network of attractive people in the world.

Entry to BeautifulPeople.com is only possible after passing a democratic rating process, where members of the opposite sex vote 'Yes definitely', 'Hmm yes, O.K', 'Hmm no, not really' and 'NO Definitely NOT' based on photographs and a brief profile submitted by new applicants.

BeautifulPeople.com launched in 2002 and went global in October 2009.

After the recent cull, over 550,000 members remain on the site, representing 190 countries and almost every ethnic and cultural background.

New applications to BeautifulPeople.com rose over Christmas and New Year, with an average of one in five applicants being accepted. The majority of successful new members came from Brazil.

An elite global lifestyle

Members of BeautifulPeople.com enjoy: - Glamorous parties and a jet set global network - Access to the most beautiful people locally and from around the world - Approaches by leading film and TV companies - Potential contracts from top modeling agencies - Extended professional networks, through partnerships between BeautifulPeople.com and leading businesses

SOURCE: BeautifulPeople.com

CONTACT: Miki Haines-Sanger or Remy Le Fevre of Golden Goose PR, GB +44-207-376-0070 / GB +44-7900-690-574, beautifulpeople@goldengoosepr.com,for Beautiful People, Llc; Note to Editors: Robert Hintze, founder and GregHodge, managing director are available for interviews. For pressinformation contact Miki Haines-Sanger or Remy Le Fevre at Golden Goose PR:GB +44-207-376-0070 / GB +44-7900-690-574. Alternatively, emailbeautifulpeople@goldengoosepr.com. BeautifulPeople.com is located atwww.BeautifulPeople.com