Healthy Weight Guidelines for Super Models

January 11, 2007 New York, NY -- Since time immemorial, the average weight of women have fluctuated as a result of lifestyles, economics, necessity, and most recently, the media.

Ever since man was able to record women's bodies we have been reshaping what is attractive to the changing tide of fad and fashion. First there were the Greek stone figures of Aphrodite followed by the plumper bodies with even plumper butts depicted by Renaissance painters.

Then came the Victorian mono-bosom with the wasp waste that was formed painfully by corsets. Hollywood's depiction of Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield presented woman as soft sexy and very busty. Then, came Twiggy.

"You can never be too rich or too thin."

-- Duchess of Windsor

The untimely death of Brazilian super model, Ana Carolina Reston, may have led to the fashion industry to instill guidelines to prevent eating disorders among models pressured to be ultra-thin.

Ironically today we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic among the general population, yet the ideal woman's body as portrayed by the media, and especially by high fashion magazines, is that of "this is beautiful". In fact, the more thin, the more beautiful - the more thin they are, the more high fashion models can earn.

Pressure on Fashion Models

Today's pressure on high fashion models to be ultra thin is immense. So much so that it's leading to severe eating disorders among that profession. The trend was brought to public awareness by the untimely death of Ana Carolina Reston, a 21-year-old Brazilian model, from complications of anorexia in November of 2006.

In response, fashion show organizers in Madrid and Milan have decided to issue guidelines to designers, aimed at promoting healthier habits among female models. And hopefully to curtail the pressures that could lead to eating disorders.

At present these are merely guidelines and not modeling restrictions and were introduced recently at a meeting of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in Manhattan.

Madrid will now ban models who have a BMI (body mass index) less than 18, a normal body standard according to the guidelines of the WHO (World Health Organization).

The Chamber of Fashion, based in Milan, is asking that models hold a license issued by a committee of city officials and a panel of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and other experts. They propose that models achieve a minimum BMI of 18.5.

Response by Fashion Magazines

Vogue Magazine has gone so far as to hire several experts to help educate models on proper health and fitness. They include a nutritionist, Joy Bauer; a fitness trainer, David Kirsch; and Dr. Susan Ice, a psychiatrist who treats eating disorders.

Ms. Bauer recently told the New York Times that a goal of the fashion industry recommendations was to encourage healthy behavior among models, but also to educate designers on how to recognize disorders. Ms. Bauer, Mr. Kirsch and Dr. Ice will appear on a panel discussion of the issue during Fashion Week in New York. Bauer said that the BMI would not give a fair indication of the healthfulness of models because of their height and age, "It's not so much about whether they can be 18 or higher and still look fabulous," she said. "I'm not for mandating certain BMI's because I don't think that is fair."

The future will hold whether our super models begin to appear with more meat on their bones. We could be experiencing the very nadir of thinness, which would be a good thing. It's now time to redefine what is considered the ideal figure.

Source: Eric Wilson New York Times

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