Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia Obesity and Eating Disorders GroupUniversidade do Brasil Instituto de PsiquiatriaUniversidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Eating Disorders ProgramAcademy for Eating DisordersCenter for Eating Disorders UrsulaLeiden University Department of PsychiatryUNIFESP, EPM, Eating Disorders ProgramSciEL

Claudino, Angélica de Medeiros

Moya, Tatiana

Van Furth, Eric F

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry

Tatiana Moya

Angélica M Claudino

Eric F van Furth

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Extreme thinness in models mobilizes eating disorders' researchers and specialists A magreza extrema em modelos mobiliza pesquisadores e especialistas em distúrbios da alimentação

Repositório Institucional UNIFESP

Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2007;29(1):1-2Extreme thinness inmodels mobilizes eatingdisorders’ researchersand specialistsA magreza extremaem modelos mobilizapesquisadores eespecialistas emdistúrbios daalimentaçãoThe tragic recent deaths of two young Brazilian models lastNovember caused feelings of sadness and great sorrow, andraised many relevant questions such as ‘Can the desire to bethin cause an eating disorder?’, ‘What kind of link is there betweenthe fashion industry and the etiology of eating disorders in modernsociety?’, and ‘What can be done to prevent such potentiallylethal illnesses?’.Researches in this field show that eating disorders arecaused by a combination of genetic, neurochemical,psychodevelopmental and sociocultural factors.1 One of thesociocultural factors is the extreme thin ideal of beauty in ourwesternized culture: there is scientific evidence that models’images, as presented in any issue of a women’s magazine, mayhave a detrimental effect on women, particularly those who aremore vulnerable.2It is well known that eating disorders, in particular anorexianervosa and bulimia nervosa, have a higher incidence in femaleadolescence.3 Some occupations such as fashion models,dancers, athletes (e.g. jockeys), in which weight and/or bodyshape are very important, are also at a higher risk range.Therefore, being an adolescent fashion model means to be exposedto many risk factors that when associated with othervulnerabilities such as genetic or familial characteristics canprecipitate the onset of an eating disorder. For this reason, thisgroup should be a target for close monitoring, and parents andcaretakers should be aware of the exposure of their child tosuch potentials risks. In addition, model agents and sportscoaches should also be concerned about these health issuesand guarantee psychological and nutritional support to theprofessionals at their care.However, most individuals presenting eating disorders are nota part of any special occupational risk group; they are youngpeople, and most of them live in societies where the modernthin ideal of beauty is an overemphasized value that causesmany false beliefs and has false meanings such as “success”,“power”, “competence”, “happiness” and “wealth”. Therefore, itseems of even greater relevance to take actions towardsmonitoring, as a matter of public health, what is portrayed bythe media and women’s magazines as the ideal of beauty. Suchthin standards of body weight and shape may be contributing tothe development of eating disorders in vulnerable subjects, asthese standards are unattainable and unhealthy for the majorityof young women. Health policy makers should be aware of thisissue and start to develop effective measures to deal with thisenvironmental risk.Researchers and specialists on eating disorders have theresponsibility to clarify these aspects to segments of society thatmust be involved in preventive actions. Some initial stepstowards change were already taken. Last August, at a majorfashion show in Spain, excessively thin models, with body massindex below 18 kg/m², were banned from the catwalk. Otherimportant international initiatives were taken by the Academyfor Eating Disorders (AED) – an international organization foreating disorder treatment, research and education ofprofessionals – that published ‘The Worldwide Charter for Actionon Eating Disorders’,4 a document that provides people withEditorial1Editorial01_2444_rev4.p65 28/2/2007, 10:272Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2007;29(1):1-2Extreme thinness mobilizes specialistseating disorders, their families and loved ones with a list oftheir basic rights and reasonable expectation regarding eatingdisorder treatment and services. We urge Brazilian health careauthorities to formally adopt the World Wide Charter. In addition,the AED published a media release, last October, calling for aban of underweight models.In Brazil, the eating disorders services mainly at universitycenters, with the support of the Brazilian Psychiatry Association(Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria) and the AED, wrote apublic communication addressed to the Brazilian communitylast November.5 It commented on two young models deathsand stated that an overemphasis on an extreme thin ideal canstrongly contribute to the development and perpetuation ofinadequate eating behaviors in susceptible individuals. It alsoreported the necessity of debating the issue with a variety of oursociety segments such as health professionals, fashion industryofficial representatives, legal and governmental authorities,parents and teachers associations, to collaboratively establish areal impact proposal towards protecting the health of youngpeople who might be at risk.Tatiana MoyaObesity and Eating Disorders Group (GOTA),Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia (IEDE),Instituto de Psiquiatria da Universidade do Brasil (IPUB),Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ),Rio de Janeiro (RJ), BrazilAngélica M ClaudinoEating Disorders Program (PROATA), Escola Paulista deMedicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP),São Paulo (SP), BrazilEric F van FurthAcademy for Eating Disorders (AED), PresidentCenter for Eating Disorders Ursula, Leidschendam,the Netherlands Department of Psychiatry,Leiden University, the NetherlandsReferences1. Becker AE, Grinspoon SK, Klibanski A, Herzog DB. Eating disorders.N Engl J Med. 1999;340(14):1092-8.2. Pinhas L, Toner BB, Ali A, Garfinkel PE, Stuckless N. The effects ofthe ideal of female beauty on mood and body satisfaction. Int J EatDisord. 1999;25(2):223-6.3. Hoek HW. Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosaand other eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry.2006;19(4):389-94.4. Academy for Eating Disorders – AED. Worldwide Charter for Actionon Eating Disorders. Rights and expectations for people with eatingdisorders and their families. [cited 2006 Nov 28] Available at:http://www.aedweb.org/documents/WWCharter3.pdf.5. Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria – ABP. Casos de transtornosalimentares preocupam identidades. Notícias Institucionais.[updated 2006 Nov 28, cited 2006 Nov 29] Available at: http://www.abpbrasil.org.br/noticias/exibNoticia/?not=3682Financing: NoneConflict of interests: NoneEditorial01_2444_rev4.p65 28/2/2007, 10:273

A magreza extrema em modelos mobiliza pesquisadores e especialistas em distúrbios da alimentação

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A magreza extrema em modelos mobiliza pesquisadores e especialistas em distúrbios da alimentação

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