The Denver Post has recently spotlighted cyber-driven anorexia, an eating disorder typified by self-imposed starvation in order to lose weight. The July 17 article linked the popularity of such sites to ideas that have been advanced in hard copy for years: Rail thin models, actresses and singers, tiny, revealing clothes, and magazines advancing image over health.

These unrealistic ideals are sadly not limited to pro-anorexic sites. One chat-room guest at a fitness site trashed a sensible cyber diet because "It didn’t tell me how to lose 10 pounds FAST!" This particular diet is set up to take off 10 pounds per month — leaving me to wonder just how "fast" would be fast enough for this person. Another site, an anti-anorexic one, tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who lost 100 pounds in two months. This is not impressive, but horrifying.

At least for now, anti-anorexic sites outweigh "pro-anas." Pointing out facts and fears regarding eating disorders is a positive start. It’s too bad that most watchdog groups stop here, because we could all do more than point fingers at the entertainment and fashion industries.

According to the Toronto Star, the Argentina senate has passed legislation requiring clothing manufacturers to fit "real sizes, and not the abnormal or anorexic sizes of adolescent women."

I’m not sure if I approve of this interference with free enterprise; however, retailers do have a responsibility to their consumers. Argentina — which reports that one in 10 of its young women suffers from either anorexia or bulimia — has proven that a government can encourage that responsibility.

Liverpool, England, is taking proactive measures that, if successful, might eliminate the need for such legislation. According to the Irish Times, the Liverpool City Council is working with the Liverpool Health Promotional Service to instruct students in that city about eating disorders. The goal is to integrate solid information about disorders like anorexia and bulimia into the regular health program in schools.

Knowledge truly is half the battle, and the students of Liverpool will be better armed when it comes to fighting the pressure to conform. This information will enable them to truly be personally responsible for their health and mental well-being.

We cannot legislate — or even educate — destructive lifestyles out of existence, but we could do a lot more than scapegoat glossy women’s magazines and the likes of Calista Flockhart. We could start by encouraging young women (and some young men) to "get real" about body image in the broader scheme of things. So, girls, listen up:

Does wearing a size 12 mean you are worth less than your size 6 friend? No. Indeed, the "law of averages" tells us that the "average" size for women is a 12/14. You are in the majority. A "perfect" body does not equal a perfect life. A size 14 skirt is better than an infant-sized coffin. (One-thousand American women die each year from anorexia — what makes you think you’re immune?)

Vomiting, diuretics, obsessive exercise, nibbling on a carrot and then punishing yourself unmercifully with all the negative adjectives you can think of. . . Are you in control? Or simply being controlled?

You have been taught, and no doubt believe, that you are a non-conformist, independent woman. But basing your self-worth on others’ approval totally contradicts that notion. Did you know that this elusive approval is often imaginary? "Concentra-tion-camp chic" is not sexy. What are you doing to yourself? And, for whom?

Still, if your goal is to be eye-candy, remember that ultimate sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, weighed far more than those models you are sacrificing your health to emulate. J.Lo’s big booty hasn’t knocked her out of the running for "The Sexiest Person in the Universe" award. As for models, the woman who sat for Bothicelli’s "Venus" probably didn’t worry if she could fit into a halter top and hip-huggers, yet her beauty has been celebrated for centuries. Waif-like Kate Moss can only dream of fame such as this.

If you can’t believe the above, please at least believe this: The people who cannot accept you for who you are, are not your friends, and never will be. Is the attempt to win them over really worth dying for?