Michael Gove takes his nine-year-old daughter out of ballet classes because she began to worry about her weight Mr Gove's wife made decision after Beatrice refused to eat on lesson days Daughter felt others were better because 'they were more the right size' Sarah Vine said fun exercise had become 'a stressful and sinister ordeal' Fears: Michael Gove has pulled his nine-year daughter out of ballet classes because of concerns she was worried about her weight Michael Gove's nine-year-old daughter has been withdrawn from her ballet classes over fears she was becoming worried about her weight. The Education Secretary's wife, Sarah Vine, took the decision after Beatrice refused to eat on days of her lessons and insisted on wearing a smaller leotard. She said what used to be an enjoyable way of exercising had turned into a 'stressful and somewhat sinister ordeal.' Her comments come after the head of the English National Ballet last year revealed she wanted to stamp out weight issues in the discipline after audiences complained stars were too thin. Writing in The Times, the columnist said: 'It began when she mentioned that some of the girls in her group were better than her, even though they hadn't been doing ballet as long, because they "they were more the right size." 'Then she wanted to wear her old leotard, the one that's too small for her. She clearly felt that if she could fit into a smaller size that would be a good thing. That was the final straw. Mrs Vine, who lives with Mr Gove and their two children in North Kensington, said she hopes she caught the problem early enough. Weight issues in ballet were addressed in front of a world-wide audience in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Swan which sees actress Natalie Portman playing a ballerina with an eating disorder. Last year, the new artistic director of English National Ballet revealed how the drama reflected the painful reality for many dancers. Tamara Rojo, widely considered the best female dancer in Britain, said she wanted to tackle anorexia in ballet. She said: "Audiences want to see beautiful and healthy-looking dancers yet there is still that pressure to be thin. Some comes from the fashion world and that in turn affects ballet. When you are in a ballet company, you often lose perspective of reality. So you go for extremes in order to stand out and be noticed. Taking action: The artistic director of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo (pictured), wants to tackle eating problems in ballet Medical experts warned last month that up to one in ten teenage girls has an eating disorder. And increasing numbers of boys are also at risk, some of them as young as ten, according to a major study. Experts said that with the young under increasing pressure to "be perfect and look perfect," the problem is now so severe it threatens the mental health of an entire generation. For the first time, doctors have tried to measure the rate of eating disorders through the numbers of patients attending GP practices. Across the population as a whole, the data shows a 13 per cent jump in the number of new cases diagnosed each year between 2003 and 2009. The highest rates of new cases are among girls aged 15 to 19 and boys aged ten to 14.