Jessica Alba said she ‘stopped eating a lot’ earlier in her career so she wouldn’t be ‘preyed upon’ by men

• Jessica Alba said she deliberately tried to lose weight earlier in her career to try and diminish her curves and reduce the amount of unwanted male attention she received.
• Seaking on a panel event at Gwyneth Paltrow’s “In Goop Health” wellness summit in Los Angeles last weekend, the actor said she “stopped eating a lot” in the hope that she wouldn’t be “preyed upon” by men so much.
• She said she wanted to make herself “look more like a boy,” Page Six reports.
• Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.

Jessica Alba has said that she deliberately lost weight earlier in her career in the hope of reducing the amount of unwanted attention she received from men.

Speaking on a panel event at Gwyneth Paltrow’s “In Goop Health” wellness summit in Los Angeles over the weekend, the actor, 38, explained that she consciously tried to diminish her curves.

“I was meant to feel ashamed if I tempted men,” Alba said, according to Page Six.

“Then I stopped eating a lot when I became an actress. I made myself look more like a boy so I wouldn’t get as much attention.”

She explained how she felt "preyed upon" by men in the early stages of her career, adding that her family encouraged her not to wear Pepe Jeans because she was "voluptuous" and had a "booty."

But Alba, who has been married to producer Cash Warren since 2008, seems to take struggles in her stride.

"Nothing about being successful in this business is easy ... You can't be bitter," she said.

Read more: Jessica Alba made it clear that she won't be airing her 'dirty laundry' when it comes to motherhood anytime soon: 'My parenting mistakes are none of your damn business'

The Golden Globe-nominated actor also touched on the portrayal of Latinas in Hollywood.

"For me I definitely felt like the way that women who are Latinas at all are being represented in such a stereotype, and I just was like, 'I'm never doing that,'" she said.

"That's a responsibility that I felt towards the community. No, we could actually just be the leading lady and then on top of that, we could actually just be the star."

INSIDER has contacted Jessica Alba's management for further comment.

If you or someone you love has an eating disorder, whether it has been triggered by a restrictive diet or not, call the National Eating Disorders Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.