Miss United Kingdom has handed back her crown and withdrawn from an international beauty pageant after being told to lose weight by competition organisers, she says. 
 
 Zoiey Smale from Nottinghamshire was due to compete in the Miss United Continents pageant, which will take place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in September 2017. In a Facebook post, Smale says she has decided to withdraw from the competition after she was "asked to lose weight and go on a diet plan." 
 
 "Some of you may think this is cowardly, however I don't think it is the right to have my face representing a pageant ethos I do not believe in," wrote Smale. "I will be handing back my crown and wish the new title holder the very best of luck." 
 
 Smale told the MailOnline that the national director of the Miss United Continents pageant said the Ecuadorian directors wanted Smale to lose weight. 
 
 "She said to me 'They want you to go on a diet plan and they want you to lose as much weight as possible for the finals.' I was like, 'pardon?'" said Smale. The organisers of Miss United Continents did not respond immediately when Mashable contacted them for comment. 
 
 "It was one of those things, in the 21st century you don't actually expect people to be that blunt," she continued. In her Facebook post, Smale said she'd been in the industry for over 10 years and it "saddens" her that "even still, there are pageant directors who believe you must be skinny to be beautiful." 
 
 "Let me tell you something, pageant girls are more than just a number on a clothing tag. Real queens empower others, are intelligent and help communities come together," she wrote. 
 
 Smale added that she's "not here to name and shame" but she wanted to "be honest" with her supporters as to why she won't be continuing in the competition. "If a pageant doesn't want to utilise my capabilities because I am a size 10 [US size 6] then it's their loss," she wrote. 
 
 Smale said she loves herself and "will not change for anyone." "My body has carried me through my 20+ years of being on this earth, allowed me to have a career I am very proud of, carry a child and the best thing of all, my body has never given up on me," she wrote. 
 
 Smale isn't the only beauty pageant queen to be told to lose weight in the run up to an international competition. In late 2016, Miss Iceland quit an international beauty pageant after being told by staff "to lose weight for the finals" and that she had "too much fat" on her. Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir posted a handwritten "goodbye letter" on Instagram, explaining her reasons for dropping out of the Miss Grand International event in Las Vegas. 
 
 My goodbye letter✉️🖋 A photo posted by Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir (@arnayr) on Oct 24, 2016 at 3:42pm PDT 
 
 Smale said she'd had "some really amazing experiences" in the pageant industry, from which she will now be retiring. 
 
 "I don't believe anyone should be able to manipulate you and dull your sparkle," she said. 
 
 Hear, hear! ||||| Image copyright Zoiey Smale Image caption Zoiey Smale was named Miss United Continents UK 2017 in June but has now handed back her crown 
 
 The winner of a beauty pageant says she has handed back her crown after being told she was "too big" and needed to go on a diet. 
 
 Zoiey Smale, a size 10, was due to represent the UK at Miss United Continents 2017 in Ecuador after winning nationally in Nottingham. 
 
 She said she considered going anyway in protest but decided to speak out. 
 
 The BBC has contacted the international competition organisers, who she says sent the dieting feedback, for comment. 
 
 "I think it's important to empower women and know it's OK to be healthy, educated and a good role model," said Ms Smale, from Northamptonshire. 
 
 "I didn't hand my crown over straight away. I was going to go out of protest, however what example would that be setting?" 
 
 Image copyright Zoiey Smale Image caption Zoiey Smale said her size 10 figure is "healthy" rather than "ridiculously thin" 
 
 The 28-year-old, who has been entering beauty pageants for a decade, beat 11 other finalists to win the title of Miss United Continents UK 2017 in June. 
 
 She was due to travel to Ecuador for the international competition on 23 September. 
 
 Ms Smale said the national director had some feedback from the international director of the competition, and tried to "tactfully" pass this on. 
 
 "I asked her to just tell me exactly what was said," Ms Smale said. 
 
 "[I was told] 'she needs to go on a diet plan as she is too big'. 
 
 "At this point I was so shocked and needed a moment to compose myself." 
 
 Image copyright Zoiey Smale Image caption Zoiey spoke out about the pageant on social media 
 
 Ms Smale said she has received a lot of support since writing about her decision on social media. 
 
 "I have received thousands of messages from women who have passed my message on to their daughters," she said. 
 
 "It's sad that the world really does try and perceive ridiculously thin models as successful." 
 
 Have you ever been unfairly told to slim down? E-mail us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk 
 
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 / Source: TODAY By Jenna Fratello 
 
 These curves are real — and they're spectacular. 
 
 That's the message women who struggle with their fashion choices have been sending for years — and a new study offers fresh ammo in the war for more choices. 
 
 American women have long been told that the average size is 14. Wrong! It's actually a size 16, reveals a study in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education that sheds a major light on how retailers view the term "average.'" 
 
 Susan Dunn, a co-author of the report, told TODAY that motivation for the study came from wanting to eradicate the stigma of larger sizes as a controversial topic. Shutterstock 
 
 While the phenomenon of "vanity sizing" from store to store has made it difficult for most women to pinpoint their actual size in trickier clothing items like jeans and swimwear, it's no secret that what we find on the racks is getting smaller and smaller by the season — leaving us with unrealistic, teeny-tiny options that we just can't squeeze into. 
 
 The journal, a publication of the Textile Institute, launched an extensive study of women's real body measurements, reports the Revelist. 
 
 RELATED: It's not you — women's clothing sizes don't make sense 
 
 After sampling the measurements of more than 5,500 women in the United States, the study revealed that over the last two decades the average waist size has increased 2.6 inches, from 34.9 inches to 37.5 inches, with "even greater distinctions found when considering race and ethnicity." 
 
 "We hope that this information can get out and be used by industry and consumers alike. Just knowing where the average is can help a lot of women with their self image," one of the study's lead experts, Susan Dunn, told TODAY via email. "And we hope that the apparel industry can see the numbers and know that these women aren't going away, they aren't going to disappear, and they deserve to have clothing." 
 
 "That the clothing should fit well, both in style and measurements, and be available elsewhere than back corners or solely online is still a controversial topic," she added. "Why?" 
 
 RELATED: Here's why women around the globe are sharing their clothing sizes 
 
 Dunn and co-author Deborah Christel — both faculty in the department of apparel merchandising, design and textiles at Washington State University — found that the average size of the American woman now falls between a 16 and an 18, the lower end of plus sizes. 
 
 The finding comes as body-positive celebrities like Melissa McCarthy launch their own clothing lines in order to make fashion more fun and accessible for consumers who wear above a size 12. McCarthy's line, Seven7, carries an impressive range of options, from size 4 to size 28. 
 
 "People don't stop at size 12," the "Bridesmaids" actress told More magazine back in May. 
 
 RELATED: Teen calls out American Eagle for inconsistent women's sizes 
 
 The report has the potential to not only redefine America's perception of the word "average," but also the way that women's retailers design, market and sell their clothing to consumers — which could make for a whole new shopping experience with less stressing and better dressing in the future. 
 
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– If she lived in the US, Zoiey Smale would wear a size 6, meaning she's far slimmer than the average American woman, who wears a size 16. But her thin frame apparently wasn't thin enough for organizers of an international beauty contest. The 28-year-old beauty queen from the UK emerged the victor in a national beauty contest in June that bestowed on her the honor to represent her country in the Miss United Continents 2017 pageant in Ecuador in September. But Smale, who wears a UK size 10, says contest organizers told her she was "too big" and needed to drop some pounds, per the BBC. Smale was "shocked," and in a Facebook post, says she opted to lose her crown rather than any weight, reports Mashable. Smale says it's depressing that "there are pageant directors who believe you must be skinny to be beautiful" when "real queens empower others, are intelligent, and help communities come together." She adds, "I don't think it is right to have my face representing a pageant ethos I do not believe in," especially when "my body has carried me through my 20+ years of being on this earth, allowed me to have a career I am very proud of, carry a child and … has never given up on me." Her advice to other women: "Love yourself" and "eat a bit of cake." If Twitter users were in charge of judging, Smale probably would've won the pageant title. They're heralding Smale as a "hero." Pageant organizers have yet to respond. (This personal trainer tried and failed to body-shame a bride-to-be.)