The famous dating web site strictly for beautiful people has announced more than 5,000 members were removed during the Christmas holidays for putting on extra weight.

Greg Hodge, managing director of BeautifulPeople.com, said the company began removing members following complaints that they had packed on pounds shown in pictures over the Christmas and New Year period.

"We responded to complaints by moving the newly chubby members back to the rating stage. This is the same as having them re-apply," Hodge said.

Applicants can only join the website based on votes from existing members. They have to be deemed "beautiful" enough to become a member.

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

Apparently, the "fatties" included 1,520 people from USA, 832 from the UK and 533 Canadians.

"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," said Robert Hintze, founder of the Web site. "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded."