Underweight Models Banned in Israel to Fight Anorexia

Wow, I have been updating a lot.

In the world of eating disorders, there are somethings being done to combat the growing problem.

Skinny underweight models are a thing of the past now in Israel. Starting in 2013, model's BMIs cannot be below 18.5. Anything below 18.5 is considered underweight. Models now have to produce medical records three months prior to a photo shoot of catwalk show. Also, the bill that was passed in March of last year stats that advertisement that are digitally altered to make the model look skinny must be identified. 

The information above was gathered from this website.

When I heard about this new law, it felt like music to my ears.  Finally, a country is doing something about the growing problem of eating disorders brought on by the media. Things like extremely thin and photoshoped celebrities should not be the meaning of beautiful.

Here is an example of what photoshop can do:





In the article, it says 5% of Israelis suffer from an eating disorder which is a relatively high number. This probably meant that body image was more important to the Israelis government than maybe the American government.

Overall I am happy with what Israel has done. I really do hope that other countries will catch on. We have to protect not only our children, but ourselves from this type of manipulation.

'I Beat Anorexia' Shirts

I was at the beach a few days ago looking at the funny t-shirts. You know the ones like, 'I'm with stupid' or 'Its good to be the king'. That is when I saw this shirt:

Immediately I was outraged. This shirt was obviously a joke and I respect that but it is promoting an eating disorder as nothing serious and as a joke. Eating disorders are not a joke, they are a matter of life and death. 20% of anorexics will die of complications to the illness while only 40% truly recover. Things like this are why there is so much prejudice.


When I came home I decided to do a little bit of research. I searched up 'I Beat Anorexia' and this is what I found:

As you can see, the man wearing the shirt is relatively large (the nice way of saying he is obese). This either means that people who do beat anorexia have to be the exact opposite, obese or that eating disorders do not have to be taken seriously.

It might be funny if you wear it to the movies but if you meet an anorexic with that shirt on... all I can say is good luck.

So that basically concludes my short rant of the day. Oh and a quick life update, I got twitter. Here is the link. Please follow me! I sound desperate now...

Anyways,

Stay Strong

James

Disney's Eating Disorder Joke

It feels as if I am always late when it comes to new topics but here I go.

I believe it was in December 2011, when a Disney television show, Shake it Up, made a joke about eating disorders. It was 'I could just eat you guys up, you know... If I ate'. Here is the video:



As you can see, it feels as if Disney is trying to promote eating disorders to children. Demi Lovato, a Disney star who suffers from bulimia soon tweeted:

I find it really funny how a company can lose one of their actress' from the pressures of an EATING DISORDER and yet still make joke about..
— demetria lovato (@ddlovato) December 24, 2011

Later:

And is it just me or are the actress' getting THINNER AND THINNER.... I miss the days of RAVEN, and LIZZIE MCGUIRE.
— demetria lovato (@ddlovato) December 24, 2011

Note both Raven Symone and Hilary Duff have had to deal with pressure from the media to loose weight.

And finally she sent a message to her formal employers:

Dear Disney Channel, EATING DISORDERS ARE NOT SOMETHING TO JOKE ABOUT.
— demetria lovato (@ddlovato) December 24, 2011

Disney has since pulled the episode.

Though Lovato is Pro Recovery, I respect her. She stood up for what she believed in and made a difference.

Stay Strong

James