There's been a lot of debate lately surrounding the fashion industry and its models -- how thin is too thin? The debate flamed even higher recently in Brazil, following the death of a popular supermodel and three other young women from anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is such a hot topic in the South American country that a favorite TV soap opera has built a major story line around it.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen entered the fray this week, speaking out in defense of the fashion industry. Bundchen feels that young models need strong family support to walk the fine line between thin and too thin. She herself started modeling at 14 and says that though she was away from the protection of family, she still knew she had their support. She says that fashion is not to blame for anorexia nervosa in models, but instead the focus should fall on the families of these women.

Obviously, Gisele has more experience with this topic than I do. After all, she's a supermodel with years of experience and I'm....well....not. But I'm not sure I agree with her. I do agree that strong family support can see a person through multitude of things, probably even the rigors of being a teenage model. But we've talked about the negative effect that the media can have on young girls before, and I don't think the fashion industry has to accept some of the responsibility here. I have to imagine that living in an industry with a culture that's competitive, where the most thin and beautiful become the most successful, has to have a pretty big impact on teenage models.

Of course, it might just be that I rented The Devil Wears Prada last night and am still annoyed that (spoiler alert) Miranda jilted Nigel in such a mean and heartless way. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue!