UW study dispels common myth about models and eating disorders
WATERLOO, Ont. (June 26, 2007) -- A University of Waterloo team has produced a study that challenges the myth that the risk of developing disordered eating habits is higher among models than non-models.
Jennifer McWhirter, a recent health studies graduate and also a model with Toronto agency B&M Models, produced the Model and Undergraduate Self-Esteem (MUSE) study for an honours thesis supervised by lecturer Kelly Anthony.
While some models might have eating disorders, the MUSE study concludes that they represent a small minority within the population. Most models surveyed reported considerable happiness and satisfaction with themselves, their appearance, and the industry.
"Models are often perceived as mal-nourished and abusive toward their bodies," said McWhirter. "According to my results, however, those in the modeling industry are not any more likely to develop eating disorders than those who are not."
McWhirter conducted an online survey that contained questions based on body image, self-esteem, eating habits and exercise behaviors. The 339 participants consisted of both female models and non-models, whose average age fell into the early- to mid-twenties. Models were recruited from Toronto and Montreal agencies, and more than half had international modeling experience. Non-models were made up of a sample of UW undergraduate students.
The deaths of models Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston in 2006 sparked global controversy and initiated the ongoing "skinny-model" debate. Since both died as a result of eating disorders, many people jumped to the conclusion that the pressures of modeling had sparked their behavior. Madrid, Spain has since issued minimum age and Body Mass Index (BMI, which measures the ratio height-to-weight ratio) requirements to models; other countries, such as Italy and France, followed in its footsteps to varying degrees.
Despite constant media coverage and debate regarding the physical appearance of models, however, few people have heard from the models. In fact, no academic research has sought to ask Canadian models how they feel about their bodies.
Low self-esteem is often a key contributor to disordered eating habits but, according to the MUSE study, models have higher self-esteem than non-models. As they are more likely to be satisfied with their appearance, models were significantly more comfortable referring to themselves as beautiful.
Furthermore, an overwhelming 93 per cent of models reported that modeling was a positive contributor to their overall lives rather than a stressful factor leading to unhealthy behaviours.
So why are models so thin?
Although the BMI of the MUSE study models classified them as underweight, with an average score of 17.4, their eating and exercising habits did not differ from those of the non-models who averaged a normal BMI of 22.7. In fact, more than 80 per cent of both groups scored well within the normal, healthy range for eating behaviours.
With 74 per cent claiming they did not have to lose any weight to begin their career in modeling, McWhirter’s results suggest models are thin naturally and likely don’t attain their physiques though extreme and unhealthy habits.
"This is an impressive bit of scholarship, well above what’s expected from an undergraduate student and much more inline with what we see at the graduate level," said Kelly Anthony, a health studies lecturer who supervised McWhirter’s research. "This is the first significant study done in Canada on this important issue."
The MUSE study findings, that models have higher self-esteem but not higher rates of disordered eating behaviour, suggest that a minimum BMI requirement as set out by some of the model bans may not be an accurate measure to deem whether a model is healthy or not. "Possessing a certain body type cannot and should not be equated with having an eating disorder," said McWhirter.
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Muse Study Executive Summary
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