Furor Over Anorexic Models Hits U.S. Fashion Week

Eating-disorders experts urge designers to shun rail-thin young women.

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter
Friday, February 2, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

FRIDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- As the U.S. fashion season kicks off Friday in New York City, the headline-grabbing controversy over dangerously thin models will link arms with haute couture on the runway.

The furor began in earnest last year with the deaths of two young models from anorexia nervosa and has since escalated, prompting fashion-show bosses in Europe to ban girls under a certain body mass index from working the shows.

In mid-January, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) issued its own "Health Initiative," stressing voluntary measures to "create an atmosphere that supports the well-being of these young women."

But that may not be enough to protect models -- and the millions of girls and women who emulate them, critics charge.

Too often, "guidelines are things that people just hang on a wall," said Lynn Grefe, chief executive officer of the National Eating Disorders Association.

While she's pleased that the CFDA has "opened a dialogue" on the issue, Grefe said she's waiting to see how these voluntary rules get implemented.

"Right now, I'm not sure how they are going to handle it if they have an anorexic girl in the shows," Grefe said. Given that most eating-disorder sufferers hide the problem, "How are designers going to know about it? And who's going to tell the girl?" she said.

The issue gained renewed prominence with the eating-disorders deaths in 2006 of two young models -- Luisel Ramos, of Uruguay, and Ana Carolina Reston, of Brazil, who was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 88 pounds when she died. Reston reportedly lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes in the weeks before her death.

The outcry over these deaths led to a move in September by government officials in Madrid to ban models with a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 18 from performing in city-sponsored fashion shows.

Milan followed suit, with a similar ordinance passed by government officials last month to restrict runway models to BMIs of 18.5 or more. (For reference, a 5-foot-9 woman with a BMI of 18.5 would weigh 125 pounds). Italian designers have also agreed to demand that all models submit medical proof that they don't suffer from an eating disorder as a condition to work.