Weighing in on Size Zero

It seems like every week we hear a new chilling story about the reality many models face working in the fashion industry. This time the revelations come from a former editor at Australian Vogue, and what she says is astonishing. The accounts range from models only eating tissue or cotton balls to stay thin and girls in and out of the hospital due to the stress of the job. Despite recent health initiatives by Vogue and the CFDA, super thin models still rule the runways and magazines. We've got to do something about it.

I've written a lot about unhealthy models and the ridiculous beauty standards that many models are held to in this business. One of my articles,"How Thin To I Have To Be Realistically To Model", caught the attention of the folks at the Huffington Post Live. On Wednesday, they invited me to an online chat to discuss the size zero model epidemic with a panel that included a fellow model and a couple of health experts. You can check out the segment below.

Too often we play the blame game in fashion. Who's at fault for size zero models? Some say it's the fashion editors for puting thin girls in magazines. The editors say it's the designers for making size zero samples of the clothes. Modeling agents say they are only supplying what the clients demand. The poor models are tangled up in this spider web and are just trying to keep working. Just think about the effect seeing skin and bones has on other impressionable girls. Self hate, eating disorders, depression. We've got to build a support system for these young women and push forward for a better, healthier tomorrow. It takes a village...

Chime in: Are you surprised when you hear stories about models eating cotton balls dipped in orange juice? Do you think things have gotten better since Vogue initiated its health initiative?