I came across this US based website today when stumbling upon a very bad review of the concept and thought I would share it with you and ask your thoughts on this.

The review can be read here but below are some snippets from the website.

“At Sonsi, we are a team that knows one size does not fit all, that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and styles, and that there is nothing better than feeling good in your own skin. Therefore we created a new way to shop: an online destination committed to delivering the best fashions and one of the largest assortments of products for real women, sizes 12 and up, with the added benefit of a social escape.

SonsiLiving, the social side of Sonsi, is an inclusive online social community where real women can relax, make friends, share stories and feel empowered with information and advice from experts and peers alike ‐ all for free. The online getaway engages plus‐size women through social networking, groups and clubs, live power chat sessions, interactive quizzes and polls, and relevant expert blogs, content and advice covering fashion, beauty, health, relationships and more.”

I would really welcome your thoughts on this topic, is a platform for direct shopping and socialising something you would want to take part in?

If you would like to review a website for our readers, then please get in touch 100% People is about providing the best information we can find to the market.

If you care about what you eat and our environment then this campaign needs your support. “Meat Free Monday is an environmental campaign to raise awareness of the climate-changing impact of meat production and consumption. Many people are unaware that livestock production is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – that’s more than the entire transport sector.”

This campaign hopes to change the eating habits of people nationwide and to make aware that meat consumption has and is having a real impact on the environment. Recipes have been created for the campaign to inspire individuals to embrace a meat free Monday, this will be today’s dedicated recipe, since it is Monday, so don’t forget to visit our recipe page for tonight’s dinner!

The campaign has a lot of supporters including Paul McCartney and Richard Branson. The website offers a huge amount of information and how you can get involved to help. Nutritionally, eating one day less meat is better for us and hopefully it will raise awareness of the fact that vegetarian meals lack inspiration. So we could all be better off with your support.

Visit the website to find out more and pledge your support.

Tiger Aspect Productions are making a 3rd series of of Channel 4’s Cook Yourself Thin Television Programme and they’re looking for people to take part.

The “Cook Yourself Thin”  philosophy advocates a non-diet –  instead a lifestyle change – and shows people who want to lose weight how to cook low fat versions of their favourite foods.  You can have your cake and eat it!

“We have a celebrity chef presenter on hand to show participants the yummiest ways to cook their favourite foods but without all the calories. And there’ll be lots of healthy eating and exercise tips in the show.  It’s more of a “healthy eating show” than a so called diet show and we won’t be monitoring weight loss, instead we will hopefully be equipping our participants with some yummy new recipes and tips they can use.

The Series had a successful run in 2007 and a New Year Special in 2008. We are hoping “Cook Yourself Thin” 2010 is equally as successful. If our cookbook sales are anything to go by then it surely will!”

Take a look at the Channel 4 website to learn more about the program and how you can get involved.

The Daily Mail reported yesterday on a mother’s request after loosing her daughter to anorexia that scarily skinny images should carry a health warning. The mother believed it was images of skinny celebrities that drove her daughter to this dangerous eating disorder.

The images so regularly printed in all media channels speak of how unhealthy the pictures are but “by focusing on their thinness  -  to the exclusion of all else  -  the publishers of such photos are feeding our dangerous national obsession with weight.”

“Small wonder that growing numbers of teenagers are falling prey to eating disorders, when role models in magazines exhibit their jutting bones and attenuated limbs while breezily declaring they’ve barely noticed their dangerously diminishing size.

Alarmingly, in the unattainable world of the super-rich celebrity the measure of what is an acceptable size is shrinking. Four years ago, the death of size-zero model Luisel Ramos from heart failure during Uruguay’s fashion week sparked a worldwide debate on the scandal of our starving models  -  apparently she hadn’t eaten for days when she arrived for her appearance on the runway  -  and at the same time set an insidious new benchmark.

Since her death, the fashion industry has made half-hearted attempts to introduce ‘real’ women with curves and flesh on their bones on to the catwalk. So, now and then, we do see a properly rounded female form glowing with good health in fashion shows and magazines. But I fear it is merely tokenism: for every size 12 woman on the catwalk or in the magazines read by millions of young women  -  and Heaven help us, even this is below the average British dress size  -  we see a dozen skeletal ones.

So the ‘real’ women are the exception to a rule, which demands more and more freakish levels of slenderness. The fashion industry has set a dangerous trend and celebrities are not only imitating it, but exceeding it. It cannot be long before we see clothes on the High Street labelled in minus sizes.”

Do you believe images should carry a health warning? Would the same not apply to beauty product advertising and the extreme amount of airbrushing that occurs? What really needs to be done to make a change to the images we see in fashion and beauty? If you want to help make a change please sign our petition and please leave your comments below.

Read more at Daily Mail

Today, I came across The Illusionists, which is due to be a documentary about women and self image and how we are marketed to with unattainable beauty – and with what effect this is having. At the moment it is a working progress but the website offers a full overview of what it sets out to explore.

This project is voicing the concerns of women worldwide, and something which is long overdue in coming.

“The beauty industry, mass media and advertising are filling the airwaves and public spaces with images of idealized female beauty, injecting women with a deep sense of insecurity regarding their physical appearance. While insecurity is extremely profitable for many industries, the inordinate stress on idealized female beauty ultimately produces different pressures and social expectations in women and men.”

We should all get behind projects like this – it is going to take a lot for the beauty and fashion industry to change the way they portray the body, this is the exact reason why we started our petition; Real Bodies Unite. Please support this project by following them on Twitter and visiting the website, and please share your thoughts on how you feel with regard to this below.

This article highlights the issues still ever present in the fashion industry all over the world, although talks started over 4 years ago about the size of models on the catwalk and the unhealthy image they portray, it still comes down to the sample sizes of the clothes provided by the designers – only size 0 or worse size 00 can fit into these samples. This is who we need to target, this is where Real Bodies Unite comes in, petitioning for body diversity and real beauty in fashion. Read the article below.

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I came across the below story today in Grazia and really couldn’t believe what I was reading. A study has shown that by using what is classed at plus size models in advertisements the consumer is likely to suffer from low self- esteem and therefore less likely to buy. Read the story for yourself and let me know your thoughts.

Though many in the fashion industry insist curves have made a comeback – swapping waifish for voluptuous models on the catwalks and crowning Christina Hendricks the modern man’s crumpet – it may be unwise for big brands to follow suit. Though Dove and Debenhams have had success using ‘real women’ in their ads, according to a new study, fuller figured models don’t encourage us to buy.

“We found that overweight consumers demonstrated lower self-esteem, and therefore less enthusiasm about buying products, after exposure to ANY size models in ads,” said Naomi Mandel, a marketing professor who led the study, “And, normal-weight consumers experienced lower self-esteem after exposure to heavy models….than after exposure to moderately thin models.”

These results tie in with a study which came out last October published in the Journal of Consumer Research that found, ‘overweight women’s self-esteem always decreases, regardless of the model they look at.’ However, on the flip side, ‘Underweight women’s self-esteem always increases, regardless of the model they look at’ (which contradicts the most recent poll).

The thing that instantly springs to mind is non of this is healthy! We need to get to the route of the problem of low self esteem. What is it about the models that makes us feel inadequate? For me, it’s the fact that the clothes they are wearing will not suit my incredibly short frame. I can’t understand why we can’t have models that represent real bodies – so there is a selection and styles to suit all body shapes, I would want to buy those clothes!

If you are looking for real representation in fashion then please sign our petition to get the body diversity we deserve to see!

View source

Today sees the launch of Beats Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Beat is the leading UK charity for people with eating disorders, helping individuals and their families to beat eating disorders. This year sees Beat’s 21st Birthday and they have a lot planned.

“We want to use our 21st year to campaign for the services and support that you want and need to help beat eating disorders.  On Monday 22nd February we will be launching our manifesto which we will use to lobby the Government. You will be able to download the manifesto from that morning and use it to raise awareness with your MP, local health service and help us campaign for change.”

There are several ways in which you can get involved, so visit the website to show your support.

After posting about my tribute to the women of last year who played a big part in our website and those I would really like to connect with in the plus size world this year, I had a message from the creator of Fat Girls Guide to Living saying she would love to talk to me, so here it is. Thank you Tee for your fantastic interview, I hope we can speak again soon.

Fat Girls Guide to Living is one of the most innovative plus size blogs I have come across and I enjoy reading it even when I am not looking for plus size fencing gear! The articles are enthralling, how did it all start, where and when?

Thank you! I had the idea for FGG after meeting some of my readers from adventurejournalist.com and realizing they were surprised to see that I was overweight. Because I had blogged so much about traveling, hiking, skating, kayaking and other things most people don’t imagine “fat girls” doing, they had always pictured me as thin and athletic. I got a lot of “I wish I could do that!” responses from other women who were overweight, so the light bulb went off for a web site that shows plus-size women that, well… you can!
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Obesity is a serious health issue and here at 100% People we aim to support individuals who need help in life. The health area of the website aims to do just that, here we highlight the latest news and our findings that we think will be useful to you.

The BBC today reported about a device being used in order to change the eating habits of children in order to reduce obesity and help children to listen to their bodies when eating.
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