THIS week, the Government found itself at the heart of a huge row after announcing it would monitor the number of skinny and fat women appearing on television.

The role the media plays in the development of anorexia in young people has been long debated, with superwaif celebrities like Ally McBeal, star Calista Flockhart and Victoria Beckham singled out for particular criticism.

A recent British Medical Association report confirmed there was a link between glossy fashion photos and eating disorders.

It is a link fashion journalist Caryn Franklin, best known for fronting the BBC television series The Clothes Show, believes does exist.

Miss Franklin, patron of the Eating Disorders Association, was in Hayes a fortnight ago to open a new teenage anorexia unit for the area.

"The fashion industry does make a contribution," she said. "There is a feminine ideal, perpetuated by the fashion industry, to feel right you have to look a certain shape.

"I know there are models within the industry who have eating disorders. In order for them to maintain this feminine ideal, they are starving themselves and making themselves sick. Basically, body shapes have been celebrated for different reasons.

"It seems as women have made political advances, they are constantly reminded through the media they will not succeed unless they have a certain look."

Miss Franklin became involved with the Eating Disorders Association after her sister was diagnosed with anorexia.

She said: "The reasons behind someone developing anorexia are so complicated, but with my sister she was a perfectionist. She was a very hard worker and very intelligent.

"I did a lot of work for the Eating Disorders Association before I became patron. When the position did become free, it seemed like a natural progression.

"Fifty per cent of people with eating disorders don't ever recover, it's a very high statistic.

"And 10 per cent of people actually die as a result of their condition, which is the highest mortality rate of any mental illness."

Although Miss Franklin has left The Clothes Show, she still works as a fashion journalist despite her reservations about the industry.

She said: "I've got 20 years' experience in fashion and it's what I know. I resigned from The Clothes Show because I felt it had lost its integrity but I still do television and publishing work.

"Fashion is a very energetic, fast-changing occupation, and there are so many ways I can be involved.

"I feel if you're not in an industry, there's little you can do to tackle the problems it may have."