Weighty Matters

By Natasha Burton

Body image is a subject on nearly everyone's minds these days. Pick up almost any women's magazine, and you'll find a headline declaring that some gorgeous actress has gained weight, lost it, had a quick lift or gotten her pre-baby body back. That's why we did a double-take when we heard about a new research study claiming it's not just those perfectly svelte actresses who can influence our body image.

We were surprised to learn that plus-size models don't have a positive effect on women's self-esteem. When researchers showed normal-BMI-sized women photos of various sized models, their self-esteem went haywire. According to ASU News, "if they viewed a moderately thin model, they felt similar and good; if they saw a moderately heavy model, they worried they were similar and overweight."

After all the talk about putting less-waify women on the runway and having voluptuous women star in ad-campaigns like Dove's "Real Beauty," these findings seem a little odd. Sure, we all have insecurities from time to time, but fashion models — skinny or curvy — aren't the reason we love or loathe our bodies. (That's up to us!)

And, we don't know about you, but we love seeing women of all shapes and sizes grace the pages of our magazines. In honor of this, check out the gallery of fabulous plus-size models, left.