Say Bye Too-Skinny...Vogue-Style

Bravo to Vogue magazine...bravo. I have been saying for over a decade that if we want to make a dent in the perpetuation of eating disorders, it has to start with the images we choose to look at regularly, the ones we choose to deem "beautiful." Well, Vogue mag is doing its part by banning the images of "too-skinny" models. Duh! And Bravo.

Not only is the mega-fashion mag doing away with too-skinny, but too-young is being flung, too. The 19 Vogue magazine editors around the world made a pact to project healthy, not ultra-thin. They agreed to "not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder," and said they will ask casting directors to check IDs at photo shoots and fashion shows and for ad campaigns.

Most editions of Vogue made it common practice to hire girls under 16--a sure road to a future eating disorder. I mean think about it--which model isn't going to psych-out when comparing herself to her immature, underdeveloped 14-year-old self?

"I want my prepubescent figure back..." Duh!

But, of course, not just models: Every young adult, teen, and heck...many women of all ages look to fashion magazines like Vogue for ideas on the latest looks, and these unfortunately...and probably subconsciously...include body types. I cannot tell you how many women I have heard say, "But clothes just hang better when you're thin."

My retort, "No...you just have set the convoluted images in fashion and celebrity magazines as your relative point...the standard," if you will.

Seems that Vogue, however, is just following a healthy trend. The Council of Fashion Designers of America adopted a voluntary initiative in 2007, which emphasizes age minimums and healthy working environments during New York Fashion Week, and London Fashion Week designers sign a contract with the British Fashion Council to use models who are at least 16.

The primary fashion organizations in Italy and Spain banned catwalk models who fall below a certain body mass index (BMI) level, and earlier this year, Israel's government passed an anti-skinny-model law. This all on the heels of the deaths of two young models in 2006-2007 following complications from eating disorders.

But up until now, the focus has been solely on runway models. This push by one of the worlds biggest fashion magazines, however, is a giant leap. As Vogue goes, so goes...well, everybody. The "Vogue pact" says the magazines will help "structure mentoring programs" for younger models and raise awareness of the problem of model health. They said they would encourage healthy working conditions backstage and encourage designers "to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models."

So bravo, again, to Vogue and the entire fashion industry for taking the bulimics by the horns--it's about time! Healthy bodies need to be celebrated in their full glory; and the health and safety of both models and the young women idolizing them will get a big boost from this move. What can I say, Vogue? You made this health advocate proud.

Flip Side of Obesity

Want to know the flip side to our current obesity obsession?  Increased hospitalization for eating disorders...in children!  That's right, the more society bashes the overweight, the greater the fear instilled in kids.  Heavens forbid they might turn out to be...big, fat, obese.  Scourges of society they'll be--the press'll beat 'em, the public'll beat 'em, you'll beat 'em...and forget about what their school mates might do.  Sheesh.

A new American Academy of Pediatrics report shows that among children younger than 12 with eating disorders, hospitalizations surged 119% between 1999 and 2006.  This at the same time hospitalizations for eating disorders among all age groups increased 15%.


I'm not surprised as the focus on fatness--in the negative--must scare the appetite out of plenty of kids.  Being inundated with pictures of emaciated models, and seeing how skinny starlets are pedastalized in magazines and on television, while normal sized ones are denigrated for being "big" would lead any kid with a normal-sized ego to an ex-lax habit.

Quite honestly, I'm much more disturbed by anorexia and bulimia than I am about obesity.  Seems to me that although one might lead to a slew health problems, the other is a death wish, quick and to the point.  Nevertheless, one extreme must live with the other, and so I don't doubt we'll be seeing a steady rise in eating disorders (and subsequent hospitalizations) in the near future.

Anorexia Is Not Just For Kids Anymore

Experts say that the number of women in their 30s, 40s and 50s being treated for anorexia is rising fast. One eating disorders treatment center in Minnesota says that its number of mature patients has increased from 9% in 2003 to 35% through only the first half of this year.

According to Carol Tappen, director of operations for the Park Nicollet Health Services' Eating Disorders Institute in St. Louis Park, Minn., women over 30 are dealing with body image issues and more, such as work, divorce, stepchildren and aging parents. They also are dealing with an aging process, or childbirth, that changes the way they look. Tappen says, "One day, (a woman) wakes up and the kids are gone and she has a sense that nobody really needs her. She looks in the mirror and she says, 'My body is shot.' This woman says, 'You know, that's it. I'm going on a diet.'"

This really is a complex issue with no easy answers. At the risk of stating the obvious, this is a serious self image issue with deep rooted beliefs on what makes a person worthwhile or desirable. Being healthy is one thing, and yes, your body can give you an accurate picture of your current level of health, but skinny does not equal healthy. Far too many people (both men and women) use their weight as a guide to their health - that's their reference point.

If you wake up one morning, look at your body and say, "I gotta make some changes." Great, make changes. Start exercising, eat healthy foods, see a chiropractor and get that neck ache squared away, but don't starve yourself. First off, it's counterproductive: You'll actually end up looking worse - it's not attractive. And secondly, it is so damaging to your health. What difference does it make at the end of the day if you're skinny but you drop dead because of the stresses you've put on your body?

I can't speak for every man (or woman - this is not a heterosexual thing) but I'm pretty certain that most men find self confidence and self comfortability more attractive than skinniness. Unfortunately, I think that society is inundated with images of ultra-thin fashion models and celebrities and begins to think it's normal. It's not! Maybe a few of those images reflect the normal body shapes of some particular celebs, but many of these women are anorexic too.

Some women will say, "I don't need to lose weight for anybody but myself - I feel better when I'm thinner." Really? Somehow, I just don't buy it. A fine line sits between being over and under weight, but as I've said before, weight is simply a poor way to evaluate one's health. Do the right things, practice the six keys to optimal health, and if you don't look and feel great, you just haven't given it enough time. Remember one thing: nobody is rejecting you because of your weight - it might be a lot of things, but it ain't that. And if for any odd reason it is, then that person isn't worth a pound of....