Nicole Richie has checked herself into an unnamed private hospital to allow doctors to investigate why she finds it so hard to gain weight.

Nicole has been subject to considerable speculation in the last year that she is suffering from an eating disorder because of her skinny physique but a statement issued by her spokesperson about the hospital admission said: “this is not a treatment for an eating disorder [but] she is working with a team of doctors and specialists whose focus is nutrition.”

The spokesperson added that Nicole was keen to deal with her weight problem in the healthiest way possible.

Filming for the next series of The Simple Life has been but on hold until Nicole feels she is ready to continue.