As New York Fashion Week begins, a young model has revealed the horrifying extremes she and her colleagues go to in order to stay thin.
Russian Kira Dikhtyar, 24, told Fox News that the impossibly-thin bodies strutting down the catwalks are the result of a strict regime of cigarettes, laxatives, appetite suppressants, drugs and injections and not simply “good genes” as is often claimed.
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“I’ve heard stories that some modelling agents encourage girls to do speed and cocaine in order to speed up metabolism and eat less,” she said.
“All kinds of injections are becoming more and more popular, from HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injections that go with a 500-calorie diet plan, to Thyroid injections that healthy models inject in an attempt to speed up their thyroid function.”
HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy and used in fertility therapy. It is usually injected into the thigh and has recently gained popularity as a weight loss aid. Thyroid injections are used to speed up the metabolism.
Kira also revealed the warped eating habits some models adopt to maintain their tiny frames, including filling their stomachs with cotton balls to stop them eating actual food.
“From taking water pills to fat flushes, models do everything they can do flush out any excess fat or water weight before hitting the runway,” she said.
“Plus I’ve seen models do ridiculous cleanses and diets … I’ve even heard of models detoxing a full month before a show and working out three times a day. It’s insane.”
Related: Skeletal model ‘promotes starvation’ at Met Gala
Earlier this year, US fashion body the Council of Fashion Designers of America released model health guidelines to ensure models stay healthy during fashion week, but stopped short of implementing a minimum Body Mass Index (BMI policy) that would stop underweight models from walking the runway.
Kira, a US size zero, said she had been rejected from one designer for being too skinny.
Your say: Should underweight models be banned from catwalks to discourage these unhealthy extremes?
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