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Friday, June 15, 2007 | 09:00
 | | Miss East Anglia winner Rosanna Carr Taylor. Pic: Robert Wong |
IT is a subject which has divided the fashion industry - the sight of “size zero” models strutting down the catwalk.
With some looking unhealthily thin and gaunt as they show off the latest looks, fears have been raised over the pressure it places on impressionable youngsters.
Now one East Anglian model and actress has spoken out about the worrying trend and her fears that eating disorders are not taken seriously enough.
Rosanna Carr Taylor, who claimed the Miss East Anglia crown in May, will now compete for the title of Miss England in Leicester at the end of this month.
The 23-year-old, from Colchester, is using the competition to publicise the work of Anglian charity B-eat, a group which works to help and support those battling eating disorders.
A model since the age of 16, Miss Carr Taylor told the EADT that she had witnessed first-hand the effects of eating disorders - and the pressures placed on those in the industry to lose weight.
“As a model I've met girls who were very thin and who obviously weren't eating,” the former pupil of Orwell Park School, Nacton, said.
“I've had pressure to lose weight throughout the time I've been modelling.
“I was certainly aware of it but never slipped down that path myself. However, some close friends of mine suffered quite severely.
“I don't think eating disorders are taken seriously enough. Sometimes they're not even seen as an illness but they very much are - they can kill.
“I wanted to find a charity that not only supported those with eating disorders, but also supported the friends and family of those around them, which is exactly what B-eat do.
“They are an absolutely fantastic charity and through winning Miss East Anglia I think it's a fantastic platform on which to promote this.”
Miss Carr Taylor, a “healthy” size ten, added: “People have directly said to me that I need to lose weight.
“You get given the impression that you need to do so to further yourself in the fashion industry.
“You may not get told to your face that you're fat, but it's something that you're aware of, and agents will make you aware of it.
“There have been girls that I've seen modelling that are too skinny and I wouldn't see them eat. But it's not just in modelling, it's in all walks of life.
“You can be very skinny and still be healthy, some people are just naturally that way - but it's not something to aspire to.
“It looks unhealthy and yet it's being presented to women generally as the coolest way to look - that is a shame.”
Miss Carr Taylor, who recently graduated from drama school and has just completed both a short film and a play, stressed that both young girls and women should not feel pressured to conform to a certain look or body type.
“At the end of the day, beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” she said. “You have to remember that pictures you see in magazines are altered before you see them.
“It's just a matter of being happy within yourself. I would encourage people to be healthy and exercise, but certainly not aspire to be ultra skinny.
“We're all different and the world would be a very boring place if we all looked the same.”
B-eat hit the headlines earlier this year, when Hollywood star Kate Winslet donated £3,000 to the charity after she won a libel settlement from a magazine which claimed she had visited a diet doctor.
n To get in touch with B-eat call the Helpline on 0845 634 1414, email help@b-eat.co.uk , email fyp@b-eat.co.uk or visit their website at www.b-eat.co.uk .
And to vote for Miss Carr Taylor in the upcoming Miss England competition, text 'Miss East Anglia' to 84205. Texts cost 60p.
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