Anorexia in Thirds | 1/3 Die, 1/3 Relapse, 1/3 Recover

Updated on Tue, April 26, 2011 by Anne

Updated on Wed, April 27, 2011 by Anne

Body|Beauty|Culture Update This post on anorexia has moved to our top spot, causing me to read much more about the statistics used in the NYT article. I will review all the sources quoted by the NYT. As of this moment, I see no reason to challenge the very sobering statistics on anorexia cited by NYT writer Abby Ellin.

Original article written April 26, 2011:

A NYTimes article on fighting anorexia reminds us that in fighting anorexia, recovery is elusive.

Dr. Suzanne Dooley-Hash believes that she will never fully recover from the anorexia that has plagued her life since she was 15. Believing that she had conquered her anorexia, Dr Dooley-Hash relapsed in 2005, losing one third of her weight in six months.

Dr. Dooley-Hash is not alone in her confusion. Most medical experts agree that a third of people with the disorder will remain chronically ill, a third will die of their disorder, and a third will recover — with one significant caveat. There is surprisingly little agreement as to what “recovery” means for people with anorexia.

There is significant good advice and insights into the reality of defining ‘recovery’ for patients with anorexia.

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Crystal Renn Talks Curvy Models for Marina Rinaldi 2011 Campaign

(Please read our 4/26/11 article on anorexia. We feel even more strongly that Crystal Renn should not be discussing healthy weight management, when she is not an expert on successful recovery from anorexia. Today’s NYTimes article treats anorexia as alcoholism, saying that a woman (10 times as many sufferers from anorexia are women) is at risk for many years, perhaps decades. Read Anorexia in Thirds
 1/3 Die, 1/3 Relapse, 1/3 Recover.)

Crystal Renn is interviewed in Daily Mail about her new Marina Rinaldi 2011 campaign, explaining to readers why she refuses to be defined by being plus-size or a size 2.

Renn says: ‘Just because someone is a size zero, it doesn’t mean they can wear a skirt any better than someone else who is a size 14. I know, because I’ve been a size zero, and I honestly felt better about myself when I was a size 14.’

Great, Crystal. Then why go from a size 14 back to a size 2-4?

As a woman whose own weight has moved up and down the scale over the years, I understand Crystal Renn’s argument. I just want her to stop talking about herself as an adviser to women about weight issues with little professional education on the topic, that would ground her personal advice in scientific facts.

Even in her Daily Mail interview, Crystal Renn sounds like a paid spokeswoman:

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Victoria's Secret's Candice Swanepoel Called 'Shockingly Thin'

Victoria’s Secret model Candice Swanepoel showed up in Los Angeles last evening to model the new line of Victoria’s Secret swimwear. CBS News called Candice ‘startlingly slim’ and Hollywood Life.com says ‘scarily, skeletally, stick-thin’ reports People.com.

People writes that in November 2010, Candice Swanepoel told ABC News that she was having trouble keeping weight on due to her schedule. 88% of those taking the People poll, say Candice is too thin.

CBS News posts this photo of Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima taken yesterday, wit commentary from eating disorder expert Marisa Sherry: “I think Victoria’s Secret was always a company that highlighted women’s bodies and curves with sex appeal. But over the last few years they have been criticized for accepting thinner and thinner models. And this is a perfect example.”

“It’s eating disorder porn,” Dr. Michael Rich, who heads the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston, told CBS News after watching the company’s winter fashion show last December.

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Franca Sozzani's Petition Fights Pro Anorexic Websites | Vogue Italia

Franca Sozzani (right), editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, pictured with the US editor of Vogue, Anna Wintour. Photograph: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPAVogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani has teamed up with the Association for Eating Disorders to fight against the proliferation of online secret diaries that share detailed instructions and inspiring testimonials about how to become anorexic.

“There are thousands of these sites and blogs which don’t just support this evil, but push young people into competition over their physical shape,” said Franca Sozzani, Vogue Italia’s editor-in-chief.

Pro-ana websites write Thinspirations, advising readers with statements like “You will be FAT if you eat today. Just put it off one more day.” or “Tape/tack up pictures of your favourite models and always carry one around with you. When you’re hungry, pull out the picture.” via The Guardian

Sozzani says she hopes to launch a much wider campaign to support a healthy body image, making it clear that fashion is ready to get on the frontline and struggle against the disorder.

Writing on her blog, Sozzani details pro-ana websites that promote weight loss:

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'Black Swan' | George Balanchine | Battling BMI Beauty in Ballet

One assumed that Natalie Portman’s ‘Black Swan’ role would inspire magazine editorials like this one of Denisa Dvorakova, lensed by Jason Schmidt for Vogue Russia’s February 2011 issue, styling by Olga Dunina.

Concerns are mounting about the ‘Black Swan’ diet and getting into ‘Black Swan’ shape. Anne has written recently on this topic in our popular Pirelli Defines Sensuality & Fashion Bodies | Arthur Elgort | Karl Lagerfeld.

In May, 2008 The Guardian featured David Kinsella’s documentary that focused on The Kirov Ballet’s size 0 culture, one that requires a BMI of about 14.

A Beautiful Tragedy

Natalie Portman describes the agony she experienced preparing for her role in ‘Black Swan’, one that has garnered her an Academy Award nomination. To prepare for the role, Portman says she literally “starved” herself of food, to the point where some nights, she “literally thought I would die.”

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'Just Being A Woman' | Isabelle Caro Sought Control of Her Body

Isabelle Caro’s death will inspire a lot of talk about anorexia and body image. Most people will blame the fashion industry, when the discussion just isn’t that simple. (Read my Isabelle Caro Dies, Reviving Size 0 Fashion Model Debate).

Have you noticed that it’s little men and really thin women who have a problem with even size 8 women? Think about that fact. Do small people gang up on normal body size folks in fashion land?

Talented short men can be tyrants. Consider Napoleon at about 5’6” and Hitler at 5’9”. The typical argument is that short men have ego problems, but many short men have ruled the world.

If they have insecurities, short men are good at working them out, often devising life strategies that more than overcome cultural preferences for tall males.

This topic of fashion and size 0 models first blew up in the Filippa Hamilton 2009 Photoshop debate. As the facts unfolded, we learned that Hamilton was too fat as a tall size 4 to model for Ralph.

To be fair, Ralph Lauren isn’t quoted as actually saying anything negative about larger women — just that Filippa Hamilton was no longer suitable as his muse. Karl Lagerfeld pulled no punches on the subject of larger women either, calling out the “fat mummies” who eat too many potato chips.

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