If the swimsuit portion of the Miss Universe competition has taught us anything, it's that pageant contestants are under a lot of pressure to keep their bodies in tip-top shape.
Fortunately, Gabriela Isler, this year's Miss Universe winner, understands that health should be the priority when it comes to body image concerns. "I think it's more beauty when you look healthy," she said during an interview with HuffPost Live today. "So skinny maybe don't look healthy, but it depends on the woman."
We couldn't be happier to hear Isler's point of view, since body image is becoming more of a hot-button issue in the pageant world each year. The Miss Universe pageant has been criticized in the past for promoting an unhealthy ideal by allowing a "malnourished" contestant to compete back in 2009. And lately, many former Miss America and Miss USA winners have come forward to proclaim that current contestants are simply "too thin." Miss USA 2003 Susie Castillo recently described her shock at "sitting in the audience and seeing ribcages showing, protruding from these girls' skins" at the 2013 Miss USA show.
Hopefully, Isler's body positive message will be heard loud and clear. Watch a clip of her interview with HuffPost Live above and see the full interview here.
See Gabriela's crowning moment:
