Separating ‘weight’ from ‘problem’

The shape of American opinion continues to converge with the shape of American waistlines. An Associated Press article on the MSNBC.com Web site says the pages of teen magazines—traditionally populated by skinny celebrities and skinnier models—are increasingly showing photos of “young women with thick thighs and flabby abs.” The editors of magazines like Seventeen, Teen People, CosmoGirl! and Teen Vogue say they’re “using more average women and fewer models to reflect changing body types and to help self-conscious teens see that not everyone is perfect.”