The British Medical Association in the UK has recognized that the fashion industry’s models are at the least partly to blame for the epidemic of eating disorders. The government addressing this issue sparked a debate among the fashion industry. Liz Jones, the editor of Marie-Claire magazine, recognized that, “The fashion world has become a bit divorced from reality.” Showing concern for the problem, the Marie-Claire magazine published two versions of the June issue: one with the skinny and surgically enhanced actress, Pamela Anderson, on the cover and another with the more voluptuous model Sophie Dahl. The Dahl cover outsold the Anderson cover by nearly two to one. It was obvious that the public would rather see the real life type of model over the surgically enhanced, extremely skinny one (Miller). The more the readers can relate to the model and feel close to her, the better the magazines will sell. The only way the majority of readers will be able to relate to the models is to feature ones of all different shapes and sizes.

This spark of reformation happening in the UK should be drawing attention from the US. There are an estimated 60,000 people suffering from eating disorders at any given time in the UK. In the US, there are 6 million. Considering this number is a lot higher than the UK’s, the US should be a lot more concerned with fixing the problem. If small steps such as featuring some more diverse models are taken by one company, others may follow because of the positive reaction from the public.

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