Barry M Robinson wrote:
The local CTV station in Toronto aired this piece today. I found it on the web at:

Model Killer: Dying to be Thin. (dated Nov 16, 2007 you can see the video online) The story is about Israeli fashion photographer Adi Barkan who has been on a campaign to prevent eating disorders in fashion models. One of the models he has worked with, Hila Elmalich, died on Wednesday weighing only 66 pounds.

For another take on models and eating disorders see UW study dispels common myth about models and eating disorders from the University of Waterloo

A genetic link to anorexia

No normal adult is a model at 66 pounds.

Deacon Blues wrote:
it's really sad when one's body image gets so distorted that they resort to any means possible to get thin.  what really gets me is that they'll look in the mirror at 60 or 70 lbs and STILL think they're fat....... wtf?

Back when I did runway in the early 90's (Yes, I'm old) I was actually told by one agent that if I lost 10 more pounds (I was 120 at the time. Currently I weigh 128-135 depending on the time of the month - ha ha) then they could send me to Ford. I had no energy, every show would take me days to recover. I was passing out in dance classes and fainted during a chorus performance (no I can't sing) - I realized that it wasn't worth it to me and refocused on Theater & Dance.

   It took me many many years to even consider modeling again and even now I see many girls starving themselves during shoots ("Tummy Swells!") Modeling isn't worth dying over and there are so many genres within it that if you aren't the look for one, there is always another. I'm not thin enough for Runway nor will I ever be or try to be(again)

   Thats so sad to know that 15 years later, the situation isn't improving -it's just getting worse

Renee Blaine wrote:
I actually got that thin at ne point- after three months of severe illness and a month in the hosiptal, surgery, and a round of antibiotics that put me BACK into the hospital because I reacted so badly to them.

I laugh when people tell me I'm too thin now- I've seen what too thin looks like on me.  This is not it.

On the other side, I know a lot of women my age who are constantly trying to e thinner, trying to get to that "perfect weight" by starving and excercising too much.  I always just want to pick them up, take them home, and feed them pot roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans until their cheeks fill back in.

I know people who are naturally thin due to high metabolisms and I know people with eating disorders.

can I have the mashed potatos and green beans? *wink*

RachelRavage wrote:

I know people who are naturally thin due to high metabolisms and I know people with eating disorders.

can I have the mashed potatos and green beans? *wink*

Well tonight we had three cheese scalloped potatoes and green beans- but the kids ate all the veggies.  I still have potatoes and pot roast and Oreos though!

Renee Blaine wrote:

Well tonight we had three cheese scalloped potatoes and green beans- but the kids ate all the veggies.  I still have potatoes and pot roast and Oreos though!

Wish I wasn't lactose intolerant I love cheese but it hates me. That sounds DELICIOUS!

   Should have a MM potluck : meet - eat - greet & shoot heheh

RachelRavage wrote:
I searched google for photos and got these

the bottom one is a known fake and has been photoshopped extensively. Please do not perpetuate the ridiculous notion that any runway models are really that thin.

it's not even WELL photoshopped.

dave wright

RachelRavage wrote:

Wish I wasn't lactose intolerant I love cheese but it hates me. That sounds DELICIOUS!

   Should have a MM potluck : meet - eat - greet & shoot heheh

Lovely, a bunch of bloated, sleepy models!

Nick Zantop wrote:
Yes it is a problem. No it isn't something killing every fashion model, but eating disorders do affect a small percentage of the models. Most fashion models are perfectly healthy though.

Sensationalism sells news.

Chris Keeling wrote:
But the teenage girls who are trying to be like the wafer thin healthy fashion models that you speak of, do have those eating disorders, and sometimes it's a direct result of clothing designers and Fashion Photographers only hiring a certain Model Type .  It's not always about the people that are affected directly, sometimes it's about the one's who are affected indirectly.

This is a bold assertion.  Can you point me to the scientific studies that have been done that prove the linkages that you suggest?

RachelRavage wrote:
I searched google for photos and got these

This is NOT BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is Gross!

Chris Keeling wrote:
But the teenage girls who are trying to be like the wafer thin healthy fashion models that you speak of, do have those eating disorders, and sometimes it's a direct result of clothing designers and Fashion Photographers only hiring a certain Model Type.  It's not always about the people that are affected directly, sometimes it's about the one's who are affected indirectly.

DIRECT RESULT?

you've got to be kidding.

dave wright

Amanda Angel wrote:

This is NOT BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is Gross!

I think they look like porkers.

I would never shoot a girl that fat.

Chris Keeling wrote:
It doesn't take a stretch of your imagination to understand that girls get sick and die because of the image they are trying to emulate in the Fashion World.  You want me to give you links to discussions, tough, I'm too lazy, but a blind man can see it.

i typed "runway 2007" into google image search. here are a few of the results:







i'm going to make a shocking claim:
i think that more girls should try to emulate these types of bodies.
they're beautiful, fit, trim, and healthy.

dave wright

Dave Wright Photo SF wrote:

i typed "runway 2007" into google image search. here are a few of the results:







i'm going to make a shocking claim:
i think that more girls should try to emulate these types of bodies.
they're beautiful, fit, trim, and healthy.

Good for you, you're not as lazy as I am.    And more girls do try to emulate those types of bodies, hence the eating disorders, and this discussion.