The myth, of course, is that the world, certainly the world of women, worships thin. This myth is advanced by fashion shows and magazines filled with gazelle-like women. Worse, these women seem to be getting ever thinner, even as the general population gets ever fatter.

That all seems especially out of kilter with the growing belief that in fact thin is not worshipped at all, especially by women. Women's groups are in fact warring against the very notion. Earlier this month a top-level fashion show in Madrid banned super-skinny models. An increasingly fattened world looked up, and most approved.

But as it turns out, the myth of thin is in fact a reality. Women in truth do approve of thin.

Thinness is not something foisted upon women by a male-dominated fashion industry, as women's groups are inclined to argue. Models are thin because the majority of women are more inclined to buy what thin models advertise. So finds a new study from the University of Bath, a respected British institution.

In addition to being attractive in the sense of presenting a positive image, thin models are perceived as a positive in another regard, that of character. The study reports that many women feel putting on weight shows a lack of willpower. A thin model is seen as someone who has the will power to keep fit.

“Women want to see models that have looks that they believe are desirable and achievable,” Brett Martin, a professor at the university, tells Media Life.

The study, which was done over three years, was based on the views of 470 women undergraduates. The women were shown print advertisements featuring a range of thin and not-so-thin female models.

It should be noted that none of the models shown were of the super skeletal sort banned by the Madrid fashion show, which required women to have a body mass index, a ratio of weight to height, of over 18 to participate.

In the study, some 67 percent of women reacted favorably to the advertisements featuring thinner models, whereas only 29 percent reacted positively to models of a larger size.

Those who preferred the thinner models tended to be thinner themselves. Most of those who preferred the slimmer models also believed that weight can be controlled by exercise and diet.

In fact, the study found that some 72 percent of thin women feel they have control over their own weight through diet and exercise. Only 32 percent of larger women feel this, with the remainder feeling that weight is genetically determined.

The thinner models, they tended to believe, were more elegant, more interesting and generally more likeable. For instance, 65 percent of the women who believe that they could control their weight thought the thinner model was more elegant, while 57 percent thought the model was interesting.

In effect, says Martin, they see these models as an idealized version of themselves.

Because they preferred the slimmer models, they were in fact more likely to give the product that the model advertised the thumbs up. In the case of this study, the models were advertising upscale salad platters and gourmet hamburgers.

Martin believes the study shows why using thin models is a successful strategy for marketers. "The fact that the model endorses a certain product means that they feel that product must also be a good one and are more included to buy it."

Meanwhile, in other popcult, the self-destructive hijinks of the Jackass crew propelled “Jackass: Number Two” to the top spot at the box office, ahead of “Jet Li’s Fearless,” the martial arts master’s retirement flick.

In DVD rentals for the week ended Sept. 17, according to IMDb.com, “Lucky Number Slevin” premiered in the top spot, forcing the former top three, “United 93,” “The Sentinel” and “Take the Lead” down one spot each.

On iTunes, for the week ended yesterday, The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” claimed the top spot, ahead of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” and Ludacris’s “Money Maker (Explicit Version).”

And in books, Diane Setterfield’s “The Thirteenth Tale” debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times fiction hardcover list, while Nora Robert’s “Morrigan’s Cross” maintained the top spot on the Times’ fiction paperback list but slipped to No. 2 on USA Today’s bestsellers list.