Too skinny to model in Europe?

[Anonymous]

I am eighteen years old, 5'1 and I visited my doctor today and she told me she's concerned about my body weight because I have a BMI of 17.1. [To model in Europe you now need a BMI of 19 or higher, right?]

I eat a ton of food (i.e. am not anorexic). Why is it that everyone assumes that if you're quite thin you automatically must have an eating disorder? Why is size zero synonymous with sickly?

It seems unfair; what do you think?

[regular-guy]

So you are 5'1" and about 90 lbs? That is very small, but not necessarily abnormally small, particularly if you are not fully mature yet. But at 18 I would assume that your body is mostly filled out to your full adult size. The BMI is a crude measure in my opinion because it does not take into account issues like body frame size, muscle mass, or other things. While 90 lbs is very small, even at 5'1", if you have a good doctor and you are honest with him though, he should be able recognize that you actually could be at a healthy weight. I assume you just have a very slight frame.

I think making such a rule that you can't model unless your BMI is at least 19 is painting with a very course brush. I understand the desire to protect models and aspiring models and the people they influence from eating disorders, but not every body fits the crude parameters that the BMI measures. Policy makers are often very bad interpreters of data and measures, having only the most rudimentary understandings of the issues they are addressing. I say get your doctor to certify that you are indeed healthy and you don't have an eating disorder, and if that is not enough then challenge the regulation legally if it has to come to that and it is that important to you.

[ivarei]

aren't you too short to model? at least on the runway? even catalogs tend to want models who are at least 5'6".

and if you have a BMI of 17 and you eat a lot, then I'd see a doctor again, because you might have a condition like hyper-active thyroids.

size 0 is synonymous with sickly because people who are a size 0 tend to either have an eating disorder, or have a medical condition. size 0 is often a health indicator. but size 0 doesn't worry me (i've seen size 0 girls who look totally healthy), it's the BMI. that's not natural, it indicates something, even if you've been like this your whole life.

also, since the majority if girls aren't bless with even the ABILITY to be a size zero, due to bone size and such, having models in the spotlight with those proportions would only contribute to the number of girls who do exhibit anorexia and bulimia. I know it's not fair, but at the same time, it just wouldn't be right, especially because everyone is aware of how the media affects young people.

plus, many models do have eating disorders, so it's only right that the industry discourages such tiny sizes to promote the health of its models.

[Asker]

Heheh, yah, no-- I'm considered far too short to model (which is a whole other topic...) and I don't even live in europe, but still. :P

and my doctor did give me a thyroid test. but I've alway been small, with small bones, and thin.

[ivarei]

Then why are working yourself up about modeling when you don't live there and you're too short? =P

have the results from the thyroid test come back yet?

and frame size is taken into account when determining if someone is underweight. I've never heard of anyone who has such a low BMI who doesn't have a metabolic disorder.

[ivarei]

O wait I get it, you're just commenting that you are too thin to model in europe, you're not trying out for it or anything. because I was like, not to burst your bubble BUT you're not very tall =P

[Anonymous]

Some people are naturally unusually thin, without eating problems or medical problems either. And some people are heavy and they aren't all binge eaters, either. As a society, we're terrible on women. We have such a narrow view of what acceptable is. No, it isn't fair. (Although you're lucky to be on the "fashionable" and popular end of things, at least!) If you are sure that you are healthy (you eat enough of the right things and your bloodwork checks out okay) then just let it go. Your doctor is different, but in general, no one has the right to be offering critiques on your body, no matter what its shape or size. We've got to stop our obsession with weight.