The dark side of the fashion industry: Eating disorders in fashion Models

"Models seem to be suffering the brunt of the fashion industry’s obsession with size zero, according to a new study carried out by the Model Health Inquiry."

Eating disorders are a major problem in the modeling industry. Eating disorders such as, anorexia nervosa and bulimia have been present in the modeling industry since the beginning. Even though this disease has been so prevalent in the industry there is still little to no awareness for the dangers of them.

Relevance of Eating disorders in the industry

Eating disorders are serious conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions and your ability to function in important areas of life. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. The causes of eating disorders are not clear, although both biological and environmental factors appear to play a role. Cultural idealization of thinness is believed to contribute to some eating disorders. Another cause is when the models representation tells them that they need to lower their weight if they want to receive job opportunities. A model’s self image can be distorted by these harsh standards set for them. These models tend to constantly picture themselves as overweight and will continue to pursue unhealthy actions.

Main disorders which prevails in the fashion industry is Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Models and Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder diagnosis characterized by severe restriction of nutritional intake. 54% of models report engaging in meal-skipping behaviors in order to lose weight. The idea of not eating meals to lose weight is, sadly, incredibly common in the modeling industry, whether on an “as-needed” basis before shows or interviews or a consistent basis. Beyond complete restriction, dieting is also a consistent behavior in the modeling industry and is simply restriction by another name. Portrayed as being “healthy” or “nutrition conscious,” these behaviors often involve restricting key ingredients necessary for nourishment of the body.

Restricting leads to severe mental and physical consequences, making the prevalence of the restriction mindset in the modeling industry concerning. This is particularly true considering that the longevity of a modeling career is quite short, leading to many individuals destroying their minds and bodies for a fleeting modeling career and uncertainty on how to take care of themselves or move forward with their lives afterward.

Models and Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating and purging behaviors to get rid of calories consumed. Bulimia is a common disorder in the modeling and fashion industry. As mentioned above, at least 25% of models report engaging in self-induced vomiting behaviors . Even so, there are numerous purging behaviors that individuals might engage in such as purging through excessive exercise and diuretic or laxative use.

The sad truth is that our society, and the fashion industry, encourage these behaviors. Excessive exercise is often perceived as being “healthy” and people are applauded for their commitment. Even more concerning is the fact that diet pills are so easily accessible and many people believe they are a “simple” solution to losing weight when having weight at all is not a problem to be solved.

Statistics of Models and Eating Disorders

The prevalence of eating disorder behaviors in the modeling and fashion industry are difficult to obtain for a few reasons. To begin, models often do not report the standards and pressure they are placed under due to fear there will be retaliation from their agency or brands. Additionally, more individuals are considered models than ever before due to the advent of social media. Collecting data from every fashion, print, and social media model is challenging. Even so, regardless of the differences in medium, models are reporting the same thing – that they are held to unrealistic beauty standards and are encouraged to portray those standards no matter the cost to their physical or mental health. Below are some statistics that have been ascertained through researchers:

Approximately 40% of models engage in disordered eating, although the experts believe this number to be much higher.
62% of models polled by The Model Alliance reported being asked to have to lose weight or change their shape or size by their agency or someone else in the industry.
54% of models report skipping meals.
39% of models report using intravenous (IV) drips to offset malnourishment from eating disorder behaviors.
25% of models report using self-induced vomiting behaviors.
Eighty-one percent of models reported having a Body Mass Index (BMI) classified as underweight, and many said they faced significant pressure from modeling agencies to lose weight.
54% of models were told to lose weight and that they would not book jobs if they didn’t.
21% of models were told by their agency that they would stop representing them unless they lost weight.
Over 9% of models had been recommended to have plastic surgery

"Models seem to be suffering the brunt of the fashion industry’s obsession with size zero, according to a new study carried out by the Model Health Inquiry". The study indicates that as many as 40% of models may currently be suffering from some kind of eating disorder.

The report suggests that there is a growing number of women with hidden eating disorders. If this is the case, perhaps current known cases may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Dr. Adrienne Key, a psychiatrist and one of the authors, said that although anorexia is the most famous eating disorder among fashion models, bulimia is probably the most common. Dr. Key added that the problem of eating disorders among models is getting worse. Many of the models, it seems, are purging or consuming vast quantities of water to conceal their weight – a dangerous move as it can seriously deplete potassium levels.

Health risks associated with eating disorders

Eating disorders have recently become a lot more prevalent in the fashion industry. The industry is now learning the dangers that come with having an eating disorder. Being involved in this line of work causes these disorders to stem from the fear of gaining weight.

They often undergo a lot of intense pressure to fit into unrealistic sizes. When preparing for an upcoming show they will starve themselves until they fit into the small sized clothing they are given to wear, with encouragement from their managers. The growth in women diagnosed with anorexia has caused fashion show runners to look closer at their runways. The most common ages of these eating disorders remain between thirteen and twenty-two, but the ages have been broadened to include females from the ages of eleven all the way to sixty. The rate of eating disorders is at an all time high in women, such as anorexia and bulimia. Patients being treated or referred to a medical professional are starting to be younger in age.

Models suffering from this disease don’t understand how harmful it is to deprive the body of its’ proper nutrients. When they skip meals and fail to eat properly for their body size it can cause their blood sugar to decrease and then that will affect their ability to think properly. The brain will not function completely if there are low glucose levels. When you are hungry you can start to feel irritated and tired, with no motivation to do anything throughout the day. When you skip meals that will cause your metabolism to slow down and that could cause you to want to eat more unhealthy foods, “When you’re hungry, you eat anything”. Learning to avoid skipping meals is crucial. They can avoid skipping meals by eating smaller sized portions during the day. If they eat things that are higher in protein or fiber they will keep you feeling more full for a longer amount of time. Make a set schedule throughout the week so they can avoid over eating or feeling too full to eat during a meal.

"what models do to stay thin?" Former fashion editor Kirstie Clements reveals secrets on what models do to stay thin. https://youtu.be/nKlmcvQP4fM

Depression is a serious threat to models mental health, (Effects on physical and mental health, 2014). Eating disorders can cause a lot of serious medical issues that can stop models from being able to work. The medical issues that commonly put people with eating disorders at risk are infertility, permanent heart damage, failure of organs, and even death in extreme cases. 56 percent of young girls who see magazines have reported that they frequently skipped meals to loose weight. Also 8 percent of them have caused themselves to throw up after they eat to stay thin.

Role Models voicing up

9 Models on the Pressure to Lose Weight and Body Image | The Models | Vogue https://youtu.be/MKd38G338Qw

Recently models have formed an alliance against the fashion world. Sara Ziff founded an alliance for models in the fashion world. Her alliance was founded in 2012. It implements laws to protect the modeling group, because they are often not represented well. Her latest project has focused on working with Harvard University to research models in New York Fashion Week. By doing this extensive research they are looking to gain more information about eating disorders in the modeling industry, what the causes are, and what regulations and practices could help these models. There has always been a concern about this competitive industry promoting extreme thinness, but there are beginning to be new studies that are talking about this issue. This industry has shown that they are not capable of abiding by healthy practices on its own. Ziff states that during her research she had yet to see anyone consulting or helping models that seem to be directly affected by an eating disorder. These models who are being told to change their weight and shape are people that already have a BMI that would suggest that they are unhealthy and need to be consulted by a medical professional. This study is the beginning of research by Ziff, with much more coming in the future. Ziff says, “a well-formed plan of action and public response can instigate change. A group of very successful models wrote letters to the fashion industry hoping to convince them to broaden the diversity of people they hire, giving people of all sizes and races a chance at being a successful model. These models feel very strongly that health and diversity are very important and should be taken more seriously. These models actions they are taking towards improving the fashion industry had attracted the attention of the model alliance and a labor advocacy group, and the NEDA. They are taking action by asking people to speak out about their concerns on social media and starting a public petition to make people more aware about the issue.

Prevention and Treatments

Prevention of eating disorders is crucial for the safety of models in the industry. Leaders of the fashion industry in Madrid have put in place a new rule requiring models to have a minimum body mass index of 18. They now require their models to meet these set standards or they will not walk in the shows until they’re met. There are now studies on how to predict the presence of an eating disorder. The point of this study was to see if the choices of food that young girls made would determine the appearance of eating disorder traits and symptoms. This study has revealed that there was a pattern present among a few girls with a wish to be small and thin between ages 9 to 12. These girls were unhappy with their body by the age of 14, and bad eating habits between 18 and 19. Another personality trait that seemed to predict the presence of an eating disorder later on was perfectionism. The girls that are more concerned about their appearance and what people think about the way they look can be seen as a trait. This was the first study about eating habits of girls as they go through childhood and as they go through their teenage years and even into adulthood.

How Israel outlawed malnutrition in the fashion industry https://www.macleans.ca/news/world/model-of-perfect-health/

If not prevented treatment can be necessary depending on how serious the disease gets. When finding the right treatment for an eating disorder, you must first identify what kind of eating disorder you have. The treatment of an eating disorder also involves looking at other problems that can be caused by the disorder. You must seek advice form a health professional on what actions to take. You must also seek help from a dietarian to provide nutrition facts and dental/medical specialists to treat health and dental problems. There are many ways to treat or make an eating disorder more manageable for example, therapy, nutrition education, medications, and hospitalization in extreme instances. Majority of models never receive help because they are often not aware of their health problems. Some models refuse help because they have a fear of not knowing what to do after leaving the industry. Some do receive help, and overcome their eating disorders, usually after the risk of death.Support groups are very crucial to the patient’s mental and emotional health. Community based groups have began to emerge to help parents and their children cope with the struggles that come with these eating disorders.

Rectifying actual needs of Fashion Industry

It's high time now that the society needs to understand the actual needs of the fashion industry.It's not always about the looks but about our beautiful inner selves showcasing our talents to the world. Awareness should be spread about how to prevent eating disorders from happening and to help models receive help after suffering from them for a long period of time. Millions of people are affected by eating disorders in the industry, caused by constant competition to look the best and fit into the smallest sizes. People need to be made aware of this issue and reach out to help these models just trying to keep their job.