So Kate Moss says “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” and once again we’re treated to tabloid OUTRAGE as super skinny models make young girls anorexic. Except Kate isn’t that thin any more & the problem of obesity is far more common and threatening more lives in the west than a few demented girls taking skipping lunch to its illogical conclusion.

It’s easy to blame slender models for the apparent increase in childhood anorexia and eating disorders as well as body dysmorphia but that’s simply shooting at the most obvious target until you actually look a little deeper.

Designers use extremely thin models for their haute couture ranges and runway shows it’s true but what girls are interested in high end fashion when their pocket money will barely stretch to buying more than a few bits from Primark, let alone titles such as Vogue or Harpers?

It’s still more or less acceptable in many areas to point and laugh at fatties trundling down the street and the very fat are something of a curiosity, they draw our attention whether we like to admit it or not. Our governments try to tell us to eat healthily and everyone knows that to have a slender body is to have a healthy body but the message is not getting across. In a recent survey in Scotland it was revealed that some parents thought that a can of Coke or a bag of chips counted toward their ‘five a day’- a programme set up by central government to get people eating at least 5 pieces of fruit or vegetables every day.

While the powers that be are trying to convince us that obesity is becoming an epidemic and yet information is so thin on the ground is it any surprise that children are confusing the message and becoming dangerously thin while there’s a constant soundtrack murmuring ‘Britain’s getting fatter, loose more weight’?

Much as we need to stop blaming the overweight for their own failings when it comes to moderate portion sizes we should also stop blaming the thin for promoting the idea of thinness as ideal. By the very nature of their title models have bodies that others strive toward. Models shouldn’t be the spokespeople for any agenda, they’re there to look pretty. If you’ve ever been caught in conversation with a model you’ll know it’s almost, but not quite as soul destroying as time spent with an actor or musician, the more successful they are the more vapid, insular, self delusional and short sighted -in terms of world view- they become, hardly a great ambassador for any cause and certainly not for something as important as the younger generation’s long term health.