Tyra Banks has admitted she is ''30 pound heavier'' than her Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover.

The 46-year-old supermodel came out of retirement to make history as the oldest model on the Swimsuit Issue cover in 2019, but has since indulged with her meals and compares dishes from various restaurants with her family.

In a video clip with Harper's Bazaar, she said: ''I have a very interesting relationship with food. I have to say that it is one of the most important things in my life.

''Right now, you can't tell because I have on a men's blazer, [but] I am 25 pounds heavier than I was on the cover of a very famous swimsuit magazine that came out last year.''

The 'America's Next Top Model' star has no regrets about the extra weight as she has always enjoyed dining out and tests herself to eat at various restaurants throughout the year as one of her hobbies.

She explained: ''A lot of my personal life and the things that I like to do and my hobby is food. Finding new restaurants, doing a challenge where I can't go to the same restaurant again for six months, finding food festivals. I love a supper club, it is a true, very important thing to me.

''It's like when you're tired and working hard, you go to this fast food and this fast food restaurant and you compare the burgers, so I'm 30 pounds heavier and it'll come off one day but not today.''

What's more, Tyra - who has four-year-old son York with ex-partner Erik Asla - tends to order the same meal from two different restaurants to compare them with her family for dinner.

She added: ''I do it with my son, I do it with my man, we line it up and then we score the different restaurants with the same item,'' she explained. ''What happens is, the next time you order, you know where to order from because one of them is always nasty.''