As is widely known, the media's portrayal of women is extremely skewed, and affects the attitude that society holds about body image. As a 21 year old woman who has suffered from an eating disorder for over 5 years, I am aware that my peers admire, and even look up to models, especially those featured in Victoria's Secret advertisem*nts. This is extremely dangerous, as the majority of these models are dangerously underweight. A BMI (Body Mass Index, based on height and weight) is medically considered to be underweight when lower than 18.5. With children, adolescents, and adults seeing these models advertised as normal, an extremely unhealthy and often fatal condition is being encouraged. The following major models for Victoria's secret are severely underweight:
Adriana Lima, with a BMI of 17.6
Candace Swanepoel, with a BMI of 17.7
Alessandra Ambrosio, with a BMI of 16.3
Lais Ribeiro, with a BMI of 16.6
Doutzen Kroes, with a BMI of 17.9
Behati Prinsloo, with a BMI of 17.1
Kate Moss, with a BMI of 16.8
Miranda Kerr, with a BMI of 16.8
Rosie Huntington, with a BMI of 17.1
Chanel Iman, 16.4
Erin Heatherton, 16.2
Having a low BMI has been shown to cause the following conditions:
-Bone loss
-Decreased Immune Function
-Lung problems
-Cardiac valve prolapse or arrest
-Anemia
-Arthritis
-Death
Requiring Victoria's Secret to hire models with a BMI of 18.5 or higher would significantly help to decrease the promotion of this fatal condition.
