WORLD CELEBRITY

Painfully thin with hip bones protruding from her red string bikini, this is the Miss Universe contestant who has reignited debate over underweight models.

Stephanie Naumoska, 19, has been described as 'skin and bones' after appearing in the Australia finals - an event purporting to promote 'healthy, proportioned, bodies'.

But despite being 5ft11in - and 7st7lb - the model claims she eats well and is actually a healthy body weight.

She would be categorised as underweight and I would certainly want to be doing an assessment of her diet to make sure she doesn't have some type of eating disorder,' dietician Melanie McGrice told Australian newspapers.

'She needs blood tests, diet analysis and an overall assessment.

'There does appear to be significant muscle wasting on the upper arms and legs, and individuals with a healthy body mass index (BMI) do not have such protruding bones.'

Miss Naumoska's weight and height give her a BMI of just 15.1, well under the official 18 benchmark for malnutrition.

Australian Medical Association president Rosanna Capolingua, whose organisation represents Australian doctors, said the contest should impose a minimum BMI cut-off of 20.