Renewed fears for Nicole Richie as she steps out looking frail in oversized clothing following reports her weight has plummeted to 85lbs

Nicole Richie has once again sparked concern for her health after displaying her increasingly slim frame in recent months.

After flashing the flesh in a revealing handkerchief dress as she promoted her web series #CandidlyNicole during the 2014 AOL NewFronts in New York on Tuesday, the mom-of-two positively drowned her figure in black dress pants and a matching top worn under a long grey woollen coat
as she emerged from her hotel the following evening, looking frail and gaunt.

Indeed, in this week's Star magazine, body expert Alicia Hunter estimates that the petite 5ft 1in 32-year-old could be down to as little as 85lbs and existing on a miniscule 600 calories per day.

Wasting away: Nicole Richie has once again drawn concern for her welfare with her plummeting weight in recent months, seen here looking frail and gaunt as she emerged from her hotel in New York on Wednesday

'Nicole appears to have a dangerously low body-fat percentage,' Alicia tells the magazine, on newsstands now. 'She's probably only consuming 600 calories a day.

'She really needs to get her weight in check before something terrible happens to her,' she continues.

The MailOnline has reached out to Nicole's reps for comment.

The star was barely recognisable as she enjoyed a hike with pal Cameron Diaz and their dogs at LA's Coldwater Canyon Park on April 20, while the publication alleges that Cam was taking the opportunity to have a quiet word to her pal about her health.

Clad in black Nike knee-length leggings and a baggy black jumper that was pushed up at the sleeves, with a black cap worn over her lilac locks, she had onlookers doing a double take, shocked to realise just who Cameron was with.

The great cover-up: The petite star seemingly attempted to disguise her stick-thin figure as she headed out in loose-fitting black dress pants and a matching baggy top worn under a long grey woollen coat which was left unbuttoned and draped over her shoulders in a cape-like fashion

As an eyewitness reports: 'Nicole looked like a little boy! She appeared extremely unhealthy and malnourished. I was starstruck when I saw Cameron, but it took me a minute to figure out that she was with Nicole Richie.'

According to Star, a more official intervention was recently staged by Nic's closest family members and friends, though it did not go down well, with a source recalling: 'The intervention made Nicole furious, and she stormed out. Nicole doesn't think she has a problem, but the truth is, she needs
help - and fast.'

The magazine alleges that stresses in her marriage to Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden as well as her hectic work schedule as an in-demand designer of two fashion lines and the demands of raising two young children are all contributing to her weight loss.

'Nicole works day and night, which leaves her with little sleep,' an insider tells Star. 'And she's such
a hands-on mom, she's always there to get the kids up in the morning and put them to bed at night. She's so overwhelmed she forgets to eat much of the time.'

'Nicole appears to have a dangerously low body-fat percentage': Star magazine's body expert, Alicia Hunter, estimates that the 5ft 1in 32-year-old's weight may currently be as low as 85lbs, while she goes on to suggest that she could be existing on a miniscule 600 calories a day

With Joel spending months on end in Australia as he judges and mentors contestants on the local version of singing competition The Voice, an already run-ragged Nicole is virtually raising daughter Harlow, six, and son Sparrow, four and a half, as a single mother.

Her husband's absence is reportedly a big contributing factor in the discord within their three-year marriage, with the 35-year-old so busy concentrating at the job at hand he doesn't always reply when his wife attempts to check in with him, Star reports.

Adding to her stress, Star alleges, is the fact that Nicole reportedly fears that his silence means he's being unfaithful to her, however, her alleged accusations naturally only make matters worse.

'When he's there [in Australia], he checks out of his life in the US,' a source close to the situation tells the publication. 'He's so busy that he barely responds to Nicole's texts and calls, and it infuriates her. She accuses him of cheating and it turns into huge fights.

A slippery slope: The mom-of-two revealed her decidedly thinner frame in a daring cut-out white gown as she attended the American Music Awards on November 24, which was all the more noticeable as she turned side-on to the cameras

A shadow of her former self: On Tuesday night, Nic's miniscule dress was practically hanging off her tiny figure as she flashed her slim pins in an unusual black mini-dress while promoting her web series #CandidlyNicole at the 2014 AOL New Fronts in New York

'There have been times when she's flown to Sydney on a whim after a huge fight to check up on him.'

The insider continues: 'The stress from her marriage has made Nicole lose her appetite. She's trying to stay strong for the kids, but she's been extremely down and cries all the time.'

While Nicole was previously dubious over her husband's alleged flirtation with former The Voice co-star Delta Goodrem, she's now said to be even more concerned that Kylie Minogue has joined the show this season.

The pair were spotted enjoying a meal together at Sake Japanese restaurant in Sydney in late January, while Joel has admitted to having a huge crush on the petite pop star as a teenager.

'At this point, Joel prefers to be away because he can avoid Nicole much more easily there,' the source adds. 'He can't stand to be at home with her because she constantly picks at him - he can't do anything right. If she's not accusing him of cheating, she's complaining about how he parents the kids or what he eats or what he wears. It's just never-ending!'

Bad influence? Her reignited friendship with former BFF Rachel Zoe - seen here on April 24 - who is often criticised for her own stick-thin figure, has sparked concern, with the pair notoriously falling out in 2006 when Nicole accused her of 'contributing to her eating disorder', Star reports

Joel was also pictured in LA on April 1 seemingly kissing singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee goodbye on the cheek after the pair shared a meal - photos of which were obtained by Star.

'Joel and Bonnie have spent a lot of time together over the past few months. He tells Nicole that it's just to write music for his next album, but she doesn't believe him.

'He refuses to answer her text messages and phone calls when he's with her, which makes Nicole even more suspicious. They had a huge fight about it recently, and Joel stormed out and refused
to talk to her for days.'

The insider goes on to suggest that the decision to sell their home in Glendale, California, which they lived in until 2008, was a strategic move by the star as 'it'll be one less property they'll have to split
in the event that she finally leaves Joel'.

'Their marriage is hanging by a thread, and she's considering divorce,' the source continues.

With so much on her mind, it's little wonder then that Nicole is physically showing the stress and strain of the situation with her plummeting weight.

Her friends are concerned: Star reports that Cameron Diaz took the opportunity to have a quiet word with her pal about her health during this hike in Coldwater Canyon Park on April 20, while a more formal intervention was recently staged as her weight continues to drop

Of course, this isn't the first time the star's frail frame has sparked talk of a possible eating disorder.

Back in 2006, Paris Hilton's once-curvy sidekick on The Simple Life shocked fans when she was photographed jogging on the beach in a baggy pale aqua bikini, her protruding collarbones and
ribs, concave chest and sinuey arms and leg impossible to miss.

That May, she told Vanity Fair that she knew she was underweight but it was through no fault of her own and she wasn't actively trying to be skinny.

'I know I'm too thin right now, so I wouldn't want any young girl looking at me and saying, "That's what I want to look like." I started seeing a nutritionist and a doctor. I was scared that it could be something more serious,' she explained.

Come September, she outright denied she was suffering from any form of eating disorder, stating:
'I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I do not have an eating disorder.'

A month later, she sought treatment for 'an ability to put on weight' though still vehemently denied
an eating disorder.

A much simpler life! In 2004, Nicole was best known as Paris Hilton's then-curvy sidekick as they filmed the reality show The Simple Life, but just three seasons in and the star had undergone a dramatic transformation

While she's been looking much healthier in recent years, in late 2013 she once again began to draw gasps for her frail appearance - most notably when she donned a daring cut-out white gown to the American Music Awards in November, which was all the more noticeable as she turned side-on to the cameras.

In early January, a source close to Nicole slammed reports that she was anorexic, telling E! Online, 'These rumours are completely false' after Star reported that her weight had plummeted to 88lbs after adhering to a strict diet consisting of little more than sunflower seeds, celery, juice and chewing gum.

Adding to the speculation that she's fallen back into unhealthy old habits is the fact that she's reignited her friendship with equally thin Rachel Zoe.

The pair have been spending increasing amounts of time together of late, despite a falling out in 2006, when Nicole fired her longtime friend as her stylist reportedly because Rachel's influence 'contributed to Nicole's eating disorder', Star claims.

'Their marriage is hanging by a thread': Reports cite Nicole's hectic work schedule, the demands of raising two young children and stresses in her marriage to Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden - pictured here with their children Harlow, six, and Sparrow, four and a half, in July 2013 - as the reasons behind her weight-loss

'When he's there [in Australia], he checks out of his life in the US': While the couple are doting parents to their two little ones, Joel is spending increasing amounts of time in Sydney as he films The Voice, leaving his wife of three years to care for the kids solo

DM