Time for the Fashion Industry to Confront Eating Disorders

Posted on | January 11, 2007 | Comments Off on Time for the Fashion Industry to Confront Eating Disorders

On Jan. 9, 2007, the physician-led Academy for Eating Disorders released its recommended guidelines for the fashion industry, which has come under fire for having dangerously thin models on the runway. The guidelines include that models should be a least 16 years old and should have a body mass index (BMI) of 17.5 or greater if 16 to 18, and 18.5 or greater if over 18. For a 5’9″ model, that translates to 126 pounds. These guidelines contrast sharply with ones being discussed by the Council of Fashion Designers of America that are expected to be released soon.

The fashion industry has been struggling with the issue of eating disorders among models over the past couple of years as two South American models died from Anorexia Nervosa. As outlined in a Health Politics piece on college-bound girls with eating disorders, the disorder affects up to one percent of American females, and the fashion industry, by definition, selects a sub-population extraordinarily focused on thinness.

European fashion hubs like Milan and Madrid have embraced BMI standards, but the U.S. fashion industry is a stubborn hold-out. It’s especially sensitive about accepting some responsibility for instigating a culture of perverse thinness in segments of the U.S. public. One U.S. designer, Johnson Hartig, illustrates the spin with this quote in The New York Times, “It’s not just the models, but actresses and celebrities across the board who are thin. It’s the state of our country, I think, and the treatment needs to start at home.”

Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, isn’t buying it. She’s quoted in the same article saying, “I am surprised every time that people say overly thin models do not cause eating disorders … It is like saying tobacco advertising does not cause lung cancer.”

Note to Diane von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America: In health, when they start comparing you to the tobacco industry, your brand is at grave risk and it’s time to carefully re-examine your value proposition.