Working hard to keep her figure in shape is second nature for Angelina Jolie.

Unfortunately, she may have been working a little too hard.

The 31-year-old actress's punishing exercise regime has been blamed for leaving her with bulging veins in her arms, hands and even fingers.

Bulging veins in Angelina Jolie's arms and wrists are caused by too much exercise without a proper diet, experts say

Experts said they probably resulted from working out while not eating enough.

Steve Mongey, head trainer at the Virgin Active gym in Kensington, West London, said: "These veins can be caused by weight-bearing exercises.

"The body needs to pump oxygen into the veins for these exercises and this causes the veins to expand.

"If you don't keep your eating up and do a lot of exercise the fat gets stripped away and the veins become exposed."

Miss Jolie, pictured at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, is a self-confessed fitness fanatic.

She went through an intensive training regime for her role as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movies to ensure she could perform her own stunts.

She is not the only woman in the limelight to attract attention for visible veins.

Last summer, 47-year-old Madonna, whose exercise regime has sculpted a remarkably youthful figure, was seen to have hands that more than gave her age away.