Following France's new law that bans excessively thin models, U.S. public health experts said the same measures should be observed in the country. A study found some fashion models have died from starvation-related health issues with some deaths taking place just after strutting down the runway.
The average body mass index (BMI) of a runway model is less than 16, which is below the threshold for clinically dangerous thinness for adults set by the World Health Organization (WHO). France's influence in the fashion industry led to the dubbing of international models as "Paris thin."
Katherine Record and S. Bryn Austin, two researchers from the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, looked into the starvation-related dangers and deaths surrounding the fashion industry.
Following France's policy which requires working models to submit a medical certificate proving their BMI-appropriate state of health, Record and Austin suggested the same regulations should be observed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The suggestion stemmed from the widespread starvation issues and its health risks within the modeling and fashion industries.
The Other Side of Skinny
In the Western world, slender and almost skeletal women bask in adoration, majority of which stem from the fashion industry's pervasive presence in the media. In the fashion world, many models who strut on the world's most glamorous runways are dubbed as "clothes hangers."
The thinner the models are, the better the clothes "fit" or "hang." The excessive thinness and efforts utilized to attain such frame take their toll on these women. Many models, such as international model Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston, have died from starvation-related complications.
In an industry where the gains (such as fame and fortune) are as high as the demand, there is never a shortage of young women willing to drop pounds and get paid for doing so. Unlike other industries where employee security is higher than the demand, the law requires an implementation of safety procedures regardless of increased cost.
Employing standards for safety and health in the fashion industry will result in worker protection for models, especially for those who started their careers as children. Banning excessively thin models will also result in a mindset change for the consumers.
Studies have shown that the depiction of frail women in media impacts self-perception, weight control, and body image among young people, particularly young teenage girls. The fascination to become as thin as the models have resulted in the increase of eating disorders.
A Joint Force Against Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a potentially deadly eating disorder that is not exclusive to professional models. In an editorial, Record and Austin said if U.S. will join France in banning dangerously thin models, it would "shake" the fashion industry.
"Designers would be hard pressed to maintain a presence in the fashion industry without participating in the New York City and Paris Fashion Weeks," wrote the researchers in "Paris Thin": A Call to Regulate Life-Threatening Starvation of Runway Models in the US Fashion Industry.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is one of Harvard University's professional graduate schools. Austin and Record's study was funded by the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research. The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health on Oct. 11.
Photo: Art Comments | Flickr
