In a recent interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, Eddie Murphy’s 23 year-old daughter, Bria, revealed the lengths models are willing to go to remain thin enough for the catwalk, even if that means eating cotton balls and tissues to stave off hunger pains.
According to Bria, anorexia and drug addictions are just some of the ways models cope with the culture’s pressure to stay unnaturally thin. They’re also known to go to more bizarre lengths to keep the weight off.
“I’ve heard of people eating the cotton balls with the orange juice,” Bria explained. “They dip it in the orange juice and then they eat the cotton balls to help them feel full, because the cotton’s not doing anything. It’s just dissolving. And it makes you think you’re full, but you’re not.”
Earlier this spring, Kirstie Clements, former Vogue editor and author of the book, “The Vogue Factor,” told Entertainment Tonight that she knew of models who resorted to eating tissues to stay thin.
” . . . (A)pparently, they swelled in your stomach and made you feel full, and I definitely heard that some girls were unwell and starving themselves and were on drips,” Clements said.
Thankfully, there is a trend in the fashion industry to get away from the Size “0” model and portray women with healthier body images, but the transition isn’t coming soon enough for some.
“To me, this has to be the most ridiculous way to shed pounds,” said Fox News’ Dr. Manny Alvarez, who was horrified by the idea of someone actually eating a cotton ball.
“This kind of diet is so dangerous, I don’t even know where to begin,” he writes. “First, let’s start with the possible gagging effect a person could trigger while trying to eat a cotton ball. This could cause a person to potentially aspirate liquid into their lungs as they try to cough these fibers out of their respiratory system, and consequently, it could lead to all sorts of problems including aspiration pneumonia and bronchitis.”
But that’s not all. “If a person successfully swallows the cotton balls, they may then face dangers including bowel obstruction, twisting of the intestines and bowel necrosis. All of these conditions can lead to acute abdominal pain, necessitating interventional surgery, which could have severe side effects and complications.”
Models are supposed to represent an image of beauty and wholesomeness to young women, he said, but in reality, girls should steer clear of their eating habits, he warns.
“Don’t ever consider eating cotton balls dipped in orange juice or any other liquid. In order to look truly wholesome on the outside, you need to be wholesome on the inside as well.”
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