Ethics Newsline®

SÃO PAULO
The death of a super-thin model has re-ignited ethical debate over whether fashion companies should promote clothing worn by “size zero” women.

Ana Carolina Reston, 21, died last week in São Paulo, Brazil, from complications related to an eating disorder, according to the Associated Press.

She weighed 88 pounds and was five feet, eight inches tall.

Reuters and Scientific American report that Reston’s death intensified the debate over the use of underweight fashion models, and follows by only a few months the death of a Uruguayan model who collapsed from heart failure during a fashion show.

Reston, who reportedly was eating only tomatoes and apples in the days prior to her death, was one of many impoverished Brazilians inspired by the success of other models from the region, according to the report.

Her modeling agency said it had sent Reston to a specialist in eating disorders, but she had not kept her appointments.

Some major shows, such as an annual international show held in Madrid, have banned too-thin models from the catwalk, according to the BBC Radio 1 news service.

The Times of London notes that friends and relatives of the model are referring to her death as a wake-up call to the fashion industry to stop featuring dangerously thin models, a practice critics say encourages eating disorders among youngsters who want to emulate them.

Reston’s mother, Miriam, is appearing on television and radio in Brazil warning other parents to “take care of your children.”

“No money is worth the life of your child, not even the most famous [fashion] brand is worth this,” she said, according to the Times.