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Curvy models 'make women fat'
By Helen Russell on Wednesday 20 April 2011
The tiny frames and protruding collarbones of catwalk models have long been a source of debate in the fashion industry, but now researchers from the University of Bologna in Italy have upped the ante.
A controversial new study claims that curvy models are bad for our health.
‘To promote chubby fashion models when obesity is one of the major problems of industrialised countries seems to be a paradox,’ say the authors of the report, Dr Davide Dragone and Dr Luca Savorelli.
They claim that increasing the size of catwalk models will change our perception of the ‘ideal’ weight and cause more of us to pile on the pounds.
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The comments come on the same day as the revelation that we eat more after seeing images of overweight people.
The study published in the Journal of Consumer Research claims that if our friends carry a few extra pounds, just being in their presence can trigger a binge.
‘Seeing someone overweight leads to a temporary decrease in a person’s own commitment to his or her health goal,’ say authors Margaret Campbell and Gina Mohr.
The researchers showed test groups of men and women images of different body shapes and found that they ate twice as much after seeing images of overweight people.
What do you think? Get in touch below.
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Wednesday 20 April 2011
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Chubby? I think it is called normal. Not size zero waifs!
Comment by Kat on April 20 12:16
I agree, when you see someone bigger than you, you think hmm I must be slim, so what does it matter if I put some weight on?
However, I don't agree with skeletic-looking women, I like thin-shaped bodies, but beautiful ones, not bony.
And a bit off-topic, fashion and the media don't influence me, real-life girls do. I see them on the street, everywhere, they are beautiful, skinny, stop blaming this on the media and assuming when a girl is skinny that she is anorexic! There a soooo many naturally skinny girls!
But yeah, fat girls look wrong, and any piece of clothing looks better on a slim person. When I see something I like in a shop, I don't like it anymore after I try it on because it doesn't look right! (I am a size 8 - 10, God knows how, because I am wide) and yes, I want to be thin, but not because of the media and yes, I seeing fat girls on the catwalk would make me want to throw up.
Comment by Anna on April 20 13:46
I think that seeing NORMAL size models on the runway and in magazines is refreshing! I'm sick of only seeing waif models. I think models of all shapes and sizes should be on the runway and in magazines. I'm more interested in something if I see a normal woman wearing it than if I see if on a size 0 model.
We need to have someone to show us that having curves is ok! I love these "chubby" models, even though they aren't chubby, they are normal beautiful women.
Comment by Hillary on April 20 13:49
Why does the ideal have to be either too skinny or too chubby? I just don't get it. Why doesn't anyone strive for a size 4? It's not normal to be a 0, but I don't think an 8 should be seen as normal either. People should be slim, it's medically proven that those who have a BMI between 18.5 and 22 live longer than those who are under or over. So let's just go for that shall we? I don't want to see size 0 models on the catwalk, but I don't want to see sizes 8+ either. Let's just keep it between 2 and 6, ok?
Comment by A on April 20 14:47
Everyone says thin models & celebrities cause eating disorders then I guess having large or big women on the runway will make being overweight or obese the norm or seem acceptable.
Comment by alice on April 20 19:06
I have no problem with the fashion & modelling industry using skinny/thin women as long as they’re naturally skinny or skinny though sensible diet, exercise and a high metabolism.
I don't think it matters what runway models look like. The skinny runway models are not keeping people from gaining weight and getting fatter as the obesity rate continues to climb in this country.
Comment by olu on April 20 19:11
Why not just have healthy sized models? A 6ft size 4 is NOT healthy or the ideal, it's starvation or a freak metabolism. So supposing this theory is true, how about using 8-10s instead? That'd surely be the most encouraging as it's actually achievable with a good diet and exercise.
Comment by lydia on April 20 23:18
Why do the models have to be a ridiculously skinny size 0? There are healthy, slim women of a size UK6,8 and 10 who would all still look great in the clothes.
Comment by olu on April 21 09:10
That is extremely stupid, there are people like me who cannot be a size 0 because of body structure and not because i overeat or anything. I think it is good that there are "plus sized models" even though most of them aren't bigger than a UK size 12 or at most a 16
Comment by Natacha on April 24 17:10
If you look at the 'chubby' model you are totally distracted from the clothes she is wearing, and automatically begin to analyse her body shape. That's the whole reason skinny models are used! They are simply there to hang clothes off, with no curves and shape to distract us from the clothes!
However, us being completely weight obsessed, no-one takes make notice of the clothes anymore, and instead scrutinises each girl! Yeah they don't advertise a realistic body size, but that's not what they're trying to do!!
I think using plus size models, with a BMI OVER what is considered healthy is ridiculous! As a nation we are horrendously over weight, so celebrating people who are over weight is completely contradictory to what we need!
Comment by charlotte on April 24 23:32
Why not stop placing emphasis on weight altogether? Why not focus on health instead. I would like to see athletic-looking women on the catwalk - aspirational, achievable and responsible.
Comment by Hanu on April 27 13:57
I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Fashion is nothing to do with weight and being an unhealthy size zero is emphasised so why not a natural, real size? People are naturally size zero in the same way that people are naturally size 16. Unhealthy sizes and real sizes are very different and it's the real shapes and sizes that should be promoted.
Comment by Kerry on April 27 17:06
I agree that IF the curvier models were overweight this may help some overweight people justify their unhealthy lifestyles, but the researchers appear to have neglected to realise that most "Plus Size" models are NOT OVERWEIGHT. At 5"10 to 6"0 tall it is completely within the healthy weight range for a woman to be a size 14, which is what most plus size models are. The reason they look larger in photographs or on TV is because of the saturation of the media with Size Zero models and celebrities, who are unhealthily UNDERWEIGHT and should be prevented from working if they are presenting a threat to their health through negative eating habits.
Comment by Caroline on April 29 15:30
People seem to assume that the words 'Curvy' and 'Obese' are the same. They are not. When we say we want to see more curves on the catwalk, we are saying that we are sick and tired of seeing girls that are quite evidently underweight. Yes, some people are naturally slim, and that's fine, however, if we are looking at 'beauty' then why do we value skinny girls over 'normal' sized women? Does this mean that women that are a size 12, 14, 16 are totally ruled out from being beautiful? Fashion, I feel should represent the people that watch it and buy it, without advertising girls who are unhealthily skinny or unhealthily overweight, in the same way we don't see photos of models binge-drinking or smoking when advertising a product in a magazine. If you are against plus-sized models, then surely you must also be against underweight models!
Comment by Lucy M on April 29 19:44
Frankly that woman in the picture looks as unhealthy as a model with protruding collarbones.
Comment by Billy on May 21 13:04
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