Couple of things, Robbie left take That a few years ago, so I guess you refer to the Barlow.
I believe there is a strong case for fashion mags etc encouraging negative body images in women etc...
I'll have to dig this up, but apparently in some south Pacific Islands (like French Polynesia) there were no, I repeat no fashion/celebrity gossip magazines of this nature. There was also no anorexia etc...it was unheard of.
At some point, these magazines were made available for sale and lo' and behold -The women started believing their physical attributes were incorrect...
Voila!
Edit: Ok it seems it was tv programmes imported from USA that were acknowledged as being influencial and there's also a counter point of view stating some mags may not encourage eating disorders. Me and my memory
Link