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From hero to size zero


Penny

Penny is 20 and comes from Farnborough. She says she can't get enough of summer festivals and loves pancakes. Her favourite band is The Libertines.

Penny is worried that the current fad to be a size 0 has already gone way too far.

Is anybody else weary from seeing size 0 female celebrities parading around as if the circumference of their waistband is their biggest achievement in life?

Victoria Beckham, Nicole Richie, and Kate Bosworth can now pat themselves on their scrawny backs for gaining a skeletal 22-inch waist - well done ladies! And we are left feeling fat for being over a size UK 4 (which is an American size 0).

The measurement of my skull is a hefty 21.5 inches, so perhaps I could borrow one of Kate's skirts, or Nicole's jeans to wear as a stylish hat? Do they actually think it looks attractive to lose all their womanly curves and go back to looking pre-pubescent?

Worryingly, highly-influenced young women and fashion fanatics may not share my cynicism of being a size 0, or realise the dangers of under-eating. But on the other hand, there are valid arguments from naturally skinny women who simply can't put on weight, or manage to lose it safely. But for the vast majority, I believe they are emulating the latest celebrity craze by doing fast and dangerous diets that could lead to serious ill-health.

Actresses and catwalk models stripped of all their glamorous make-up and clothing surely can't look healthy, and it makes me wonder how they really achieve their look? You'd think they would be put off by the fact that by being too thin you're more likely to age faster - but then again, I guess they've got the money to have Botox or a face lift, or two.

Is it fair to say that young people are suffering from anorexia and bulimia just because celebrities want to look 'perfect' and modelling agencies take on extremely thin models? Some may disagree, but I believe this has had a huge impact on our society. A society that not so long ago wished to be a perfect size 10, but now dreams of a highly unattainable UK size 4. This year we will see TV presenter Louise Redknapp try to get down to a size 0 on the ITV1 programme, The Truth about Size Zero. She undergoes a punishing plan to dramatically lose her trademark curves and drop two dress sizes, yet after two weeks of dieting she has a cold, can't sleep, and is tired, bored, irritable and hungry. It definitely doesn't sound worth all the pain to me.

"Isn't the shocking death of the model Luisel Ramos, who at the age of 22 starved herself to keep her job in the fashion industry, not a big enough tragedy for the British Fashion Council to take action? Apparently not."

When will we wake up and realise that a gaunt face and protruding bones are not an image of beauty? Controversy has obviously surrounded this story for some time now, with Milan and Madrid banning unhealthy models from their catwalks, yet Britain refuses to do the same. Isn't the shocking death of the model Luisel Ramos, who at the age of 22 starved herself to keep her job in the fashion industry, not a big enough tragedy for the British Fashion Council to take action? Apparently not.

I'm quite aware that the history of an enviably slim waist dates back centuries, but I doubt that without the aid of a viciously restricting corset the size 0 figure would have been an easy size to maintain on diet alone. The ideal female figure is said to have a small waist with curvy hips and full breasts - well that can't happen on a size 0 diet.

Who wants to live on a diet of boiled cabbage anyway? I'd much rather indulge in a hearty spaghetti bolognese, and be happy. Hunger is positively painful, not only mentally but physically, and I have no idea how people lose so much weight in the first place, without losing the will to live.

The curvy Marilyn Monroes of the world are a distant memory in glossy magazines, however much publishers assure us that all their models are healthy. With models like Sophie Dahl going from refreshingly curvy to excruciatingly thin, it's hugely disappointing that our curvier role models are literally disappearing before our eyes.

It saddens me to think there's still so much media spotlight on the so-called skinny icons of our time. Projections of emaciated models as being beautiful are constantly pushed in our faces. It's inevitable that an unhappy teenager is going to look at a photograph of Victoria Beckham and think she might find the same confidence and success if only she could look the same.

Why can't we just see past all of this superficial nonsense and be normal, content, human beings, without wanting somebody else's life, or dress size? Unfortunately, I can't see it happening any time soon.

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