It has been largely a coincidence. On the same day as the film debut of “Delgada” about eating disorders, Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died from an infection caused by anorexia. She was just a 21-year-old mother and an attractive model who represented for major agencies like Ford. At the time of death she was 5’7″ tall and weighed less than 40 kilos, which equates to 5’7″ and 88 pounds.
His death highlighted the ills of eating disorders. Even Wikipedia, the leading online encyclopedia, has a list and brief description about his life and his eating disorder. It was said that he lived on apples and tomatoes before his hospitalization in October.
She was not the first to die this year from an eating disorder. The first was 22-year-old Luisel Ramos, who suffered a heart attack sometime in August after surviving on lettuce leaves and Diet Coke for three months.
For a long time, Ana Carolina refused to believe that she needed treatment or that she was sick. However, it was clear to her family that she observed that she ate very little at mealtimes but went to the bathroom after meals to vomit. Her behavior is very typical of someone with anorexic symptoms. In many cases, an anorexic person would not seek treatment until the condition is severe enough. Some don’t even seek treatment at all.
Ana Carolina’s mother is clearly devastated by the death of her daughter. She now hopes to spread the message that no money generated in a top modeling career is worth the life of a child.
Ana Carolina’s death comes at a time when concern is growing about how designers
they are spreading the wrong ideas of a body image. It was a fad that started in Los Angeles but quickly spread throughout the fashion world in the use of size zero models. Clearly, a size zero model would be suffering from some form of anorexia.
More hot spots, including London, are now taking notice. In September, Madrid refused to allow all models with a body mass index (BMI) below 18 to walk in shows. The World Health Organization considers anyone with a BMI less than 18.5 to be underweight. No doubt Ana Carolina’s death would be used as a case to force designers to drop models that are too skinny.
The media, including all fashion magazine publishers, newspapers, advertising agencies, as well as all fashion houses and venues, must have a responsibility to promote healthy ideas. The use of anorexic role models sends the wrong messages to girls and young women. It is wrong to promote the idea of depriving yourself of proper nutrition to achieve a stick-thin appearance. Young women should look healthy and glowing. And certainly not sick and scary. Nor should they be dying from the damage caused by an eating disorder.