Skinny models don't sell more clothes
Adverts featuring plus-sized models would help sell just as many of a product as those with super-skinny models, tests have proved.
Academics say their research suggests we should 'waif' goodbye to Kate Moss sized models an roll on the bigger girls.
Psychologists created a series of identical ads for underwear, shampoo and a party dress featuring a size 8 and a size 14 model.
300 shoppers aged 18-25 were then asked how likely they were to buy the product after looking at the advert, and how it made them feel.
Both sets of adverts had the same level of purchase prompting power, but
women said they felt significantly better about their own bodies after seeing the size 14 model.
Psychologist Phillippa Diedrichs, of the University of Queensland, Australia said: "It is often argued that only thin models will sell.
"However, my research indicates that average-size models may be just as effective in advertisements and that many consumers actually want to see more realistic models,
"I'll be interviewing magazine editors and people from the fashion and advertising industries to find out what they think about average-size models and to tell them about my research in an effort to encourage change in the media."
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