This is an old news but worth mentioning. Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, 21, died of anorexia nervosa, Brazilian media reported.
Reston was 1.72 meter tall and weighing only 40 kilogram. She was admitted because of kidney malfunction. Her condition became more serious and deteriorated into a generalized infection that led to her death. Hospital said the infection was caused by anorexia nervosa, a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese, an aversion to food and severe weight loss. Reston’ body mass index (BMI) was about 13.4 at the time of her death. This figure is way below the index value of 16 which the World Health Organization considers to be starvation.
Reston was the second model reported to die from anorexia-related complications in 2006. Luisel Ramos, a 22-year-old Uruguayan model, suffered a heart attack in August 2006 after living on lettuce leaves and Diet Coke for 3 months. Ramos had been told by a modeling agency she could “make it big” if she lost a “significant” amount of weight. But before she really made it big, she collapsed while going for a final costume change and died.
After Ramos’ death, the Madrid Fashion Week (held in September 2006) set a minimum BMI of 18 for all models. In other words, a model measuring 170 centimetres tall had to weigh at least 52 kilograms. If that new policy were to be enforced worldwide, British supermodel Kate Moss will lost her job.
In September 2006, a Spanish fashion show responded to such criticism by banning models with a body mass index of less than 18.
Girls pay more attention to the models’ body than the clothes. Becoming models is most girls’ dream. The reality show of “America’s Next Top Model” is a good example.
May be we should not blame it on models. It is the society. Can we ask the designers to make the clothes bigger and not shrink them smaller without asking the models to slim down more and more, just to fit into the tiny clothes? The model agents should stop insisting in getting the figures of 32 (inches for bust), 23 (inches for waist) and 34 (inches for hips). The average size of an eight-year-old kid is already 22 inches.
Nobody remembers Karen Carpenter anymore. After few years, we probably will forget about Ana Carolina Reston and Luisel Ramos. Actually, what sadden me even more is that Reston was 21 and Ramos was 22 when they died. They are so young, aren’t they?
Short note: Karen Carpenter is one of the members of The Carpenters, one of the famous groups in 70s. She is remembered as the first famous person to die from anorexia nervosa.
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FH2o // Feb 8, 2008 at 9:23 am
Such insanity!
There’s no other word to describe this madness.