Teenage model dies six months after anorexic sister

[Doondoo]

A teenage model has been found dead only six months after her model sister died at a fashion show of complications arising from anorexia.

Eliana Ramos, 18, was found dead in her bedroom in Montevideo, Uraguay, by her grandmother, with whom she was staying. She is believed to have had a heart attack.

The findings of a post-mortem examination have yet to be released but local reports suggested that Ms Ramos, who was taking part in the Montevideo fashion week, suffered from "alimentary deficiency".

Her parents, who were on holiday at the time of her death, were said to be devastated by the loss of a second daughter in six months.

Luisel Ramos, 22, collapsed and died on the catwalk during a fashion show in Montevideo last year. Eliana had just embraced her sister and wished her good luck in what was their first show together.



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1386253.ece

[porphyrian]

1. Can we stop this from happening now?

Surely enough have died for the profit of this industry by now.

[Cerridwen]

2. Someone needs to tape this guy's mouth shut for a few months

From the article:

Pancho Dotto, the owner of the agency, today dismissed claims that an eating disorder was responsible for Elian's death.

"She was very healthy, she ate well and played sports,” said Mr Dotto. “She was never extremely thin. It is absurd to talk of alimentary deficiency, anorexia, bulimia and all that. It is clear that the deaths of the Ramos sisters are due to a genetic problem and not an eating disorder."

Let's see how well he does on a starvation diet?

:nuke:

[Missy M]

5. The blame lies on the modeling agencies, the show promoters

and the fashion designers. Why do they insist the models be skeletons.

[Cerridwen]

12. Yep - this guy runs an agency.

I know why they insist the models be skeletal, they don't want to distract from their creations. Personally, I think the spectre of death hanging over their heads is a far greater distraction.

[aikoaiko]

3. I've come to the realization that if you use your body primarily in your job

then you will have to hurt your body in order to be competitive at the national or international level.

Whether it be modeling, football, running, body building, etc, to be competitive means you are probably going beyond healthy fitness to the point of damaging yourself.

I support concerned spectators, civilians and fans speaking their mind, but there shouldn't be any governmental interference.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. What about people using illegal drugs

to enhance their performance? Shouldn't the government "interfere" with that? And what about parents pushing their underage girls into modeling--and starvation? I think there are times when the government should interefere.

[pitohui]

27. i've observed this too

i've never known a football player who did not have chronic pain, but i might not even have realized if i had not known a player in my early years, who needed to do it for a scholarship as his only way to get an education, who had to keep getting knee operations and who told me has was resigned to lifelong pain

then when i meet a player, if there is a tactful way to ask, i ask -- and yep

they sacrifice to entertain us

i don't know how to feel about it, esp. when it's fashion and eating disorders, because i got too close to the fire with that without any financial motive being involved

i don't believe anyone goes to the top in a physical arena without paying a physical cost

[Bassic]

40. "they sacrifice to entertain us"

I think a lot of them sacrifice for the money they make, rather then our entertainment. (at least when it comes to professionnal athletes in gig leagues such as the NFL and the NHL)

[northofdenali]

4. It's not just models. It's gymnasts, ballerinas, jockeys (yes,

jockeys) - any profession where it pays big to weigh little. And once the anorexia/bulimia get started, I heard a doctor say it's more difficult to treat than methamphetamine addiction.

I've never weighed much, but that's genetic. I hate seeing women (and some men) starving themselves for the sake of "beauty" or "fashion" or "competitiveness". Have you seen some of the Hollywood "stars" lately? It's disgusting.

I am so sorry for their family. Losing a child is the most horrid thing a parent can go through.

[WI_DEM]

6. Was it worth it? How sad.

[devilgrrl]

8. Come now people! Skinny chicks are HOT!!!!!

Ain't she just smokin'?????

Keep running toots - I see some fat on those thighs.

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[LostinVA]

10. Per Snopes, Photohopped

[Missy M]

13. That's interesting...how did they get

the body to look that way? It looks so real.

[devilgrrl]

34. I edited the photo...

and put in another skinny skinny. The deleted photo was an obviously photoshopped to-look-emaciated runway model.

Sorry :blush:

[LostinVA]

38. Lots of people on DU have linked that photo

The real ones are bad enough, imo!

[Clark2008]

16. Who is that supposed to be?

[SoCalDem]

14. Dying to be thin.

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Feb-08-07 01:36 PM



Dying to be thin.

I am sorry if this is mistaken as "another Anna-Nicole thread", but i intended it to be another thing entirely.

It always strikes me as sad, when a young woman with a "pretty face", feels like she MUST be bone-thin to be attractive.

People near her mean well, but they often say things like .."you have such a pretty face dear, if ONLY you could drop a few pounds, you would be PERFECT".

Who does not want to be "perfect".

Shame on a society that prefers "pretty" to healthy.

In an alternate universe, poor Anna would probably be a plump-but gorgeous 39 year old woman in Texas..tending to a couple of kids, and doing an ordinary job....leading an ordinary life.

Little girls all over America (and the rest of the world too) are endangering their health by trying everything and anything to "get slim"...


and it's not ONLY aimed at women

Diet companies tout their "merchandise" 24-7, with promises of "the slim life"...."I'm in a size T W O !!!"..."I'm sexier than when I was in high school!!!"... "Now my wife doesn't think I'm as disgusting as before"!!..

The underlying message is this.. If you are not always at the optimum (by whose standards :grr: ) you are worthless, and not deserving of love and acceptance.

The companies who pimp the diet aids are probably subsidiaries of conglomerates whose "other" companies gleefully push frankenfoods loaded with empty calories and fats.

Years of yo-yo diets take a toll on the body, and I am not surprised that a 39 yr old's heart might give out. Karen Carpenter died even younger than that...she was bulimic, but the body-image issues of all these disorders are often the same. Hating ones own body has a toxic effect .

How does one GET such body image issues? Just look around..and listen to what's said.

If you are NOT gorgeous and slim, and looking 19 forever, you are NOTHING...or even less than nothing.

At some point in most people's lives, most people DO come to terms with the fact that nature intends us all to be at our best looking when we are young, and that we CAN accept aging as natural..(and accept the extra weight too), but there are always some who are willing to die trying to hang onto fleeting (or unattainable beauty).

The poor little baby girl, who's only 6 months old will now grow up as an object of a tug of war between the "two dads". She will never know her mother or her brother. Do the dads want her because she "may" inherit money her mother never lived to inherit? or will they soon tire of being Mom-Dad to her?

I always felt sorry for Anna-Nicole, and hoped she would get her life together.

[Crabby Appleton]

9. what a damn shame nt

[City Lights]

11. This is terribly sad.

:-(

I work in a school lunchroom and am shocked at how early the "I can't eat that, it might make me fat" attitude starts with some of the girls. One of the 1st graders (one who participates in beauty pageants :eyes:) has to take home any unfinished lunch so her mom can monitor her food intake. I also know of a 5th grader who is pencil thin whose mom fears may become anorexic. :-(

[HockeyMom]

15. From a "small" person

Ok, let's talk about Nicole Richie. At 5'1", Nicole at 95 to 105 lbs. is just fine. When her weight drops to below 95 lbs, she is in trouble. Why do I say that? I am 58 years old and 5'2". I currently weigh 105 lbs. In my 20s and 30s it ranged anywhere from about 95 to 100 lbs. I have never dieted it my life. I just plain eat whatever and whenever I want. But I can say that when I did get sick (flu, etc.) and my weight dropped below 95 lbs, I did get VERY SICK.

When my daughter was a teenager (5'3", 105 lbs.) in school, I cannot tell you how many times I had to go into school because some teacher thought there was something "wrong" with her weight. They accused her of either being anorexic or bulimic. "How could she possibly eat that much (???) and not gain weight". Yes, that is one of the things they said. It even went so far with one teacher as to my bringing in my family photo album; pix of my grandmother (4'10, 85 lbs.) and my Dad (5'10, 135 lbs). All, I can say is that I am very happy it is all over and she is no longer in school.

Yes, that picture of the model with her entire rib cage showing does look grotesque, but who am I really to talk? You can see MY rib cage and MY hip bones. It has always been that way for me (and my daughter). Hell, my husband's nickname for me is "Bones". Given my family genetics, it is simply meant to be.

As long as you are healthy and not purposely doing anything to FORCE that weight loss, SO WHAT? Why do we all have to conform to society's standard of an "ideal" weight, be that be small OR large?

Sorry for the rant, but I have lived through this firsthand and it riles me to no end. Don't people care anymore about what is INSIDE a person? All they care about is the outside package??????

[Clark2008]

17. But you and your daughter aren't starving yourselves.

Sure, you may have to put up with some concerned co-workers, teachers, etc. from time to time, but you know and your daughter knows that you're not purposely hurting your body. You just have high metabolisms.

No one's saying folks shouldn't be thin - they just shouldn't starve themselves if they're not naturally so.

I, also am a small person. However, unlike you, I haven't stayed AS small. After my son was born - he weighed 10 pounds 2 ounces - I kept on 10 pounds more than I had weighed before. Ninety percent of that, sadly, is skin around my middle caused from having such a large child. I'm only 5'1", myself. I am going to have the skin surgically removed after my current pregnancy ends and I've recovered from it since I'll be done having children. The extra skin actually has caused some lower back and digestive problems as it's too heavy for my small frame to cart around. Yick.

I still wear a size 6 to 8 (mostly so I can fit it around my middle - they're usually too loose on me everywhere else), but I weigh more than I look because I'm solid and muscular. We're not abusing our bodies - we're just naturally small.

Happy Valentine's Day, btw. :hi:

[pitohui]

28. similar experience with my ex

sometimes the "anorexia" is genetic and even if the person eats, they can't gain, my ex was denied being able to volunteer for the armed forces, even after consulting with a doctor, because he could not gain the required weight

his brother was even taller and thinner, lost a lung to pneumonia at 17

strongly think there is a genetic component sometimes, some can't gain even if they do eat

people need to STFU and not make cruel comments about other people's weight if they don't know the whole story

the school may have been trying to help but nagging don't help and once it was established that your daughter was not purging, they should have kept their comments to themselves

[girl gone mad]

37. I can totally relate.

I am 5'3" and weigh around 100. I was often accused of anorexia in HS. I can eat like crazy and not gain weight. I tried to gain when I was younger with a 3500 calorie a day diet, but I never got past 105. I hate this obsession with skinny girls and the need to accuse every thin model of having eating disorders. Some people are naturally thin.

I think it's too bad that the fashion industry promotes only one body type, but I can honestly say as a person with that body type, I never benefitted from that promotion.

[AlCzervik]

18. Eating disorders are still in the closet imo.

i was bulimic for 10 years and i have the dental bills to prove it. I got help when i hit rock bottom and i at the time i had good health care that included counseling. My eating disorder had nothing to do with my body image, it was about control and the one thing i thought i could control.

[Clark2008]

20. I have a question.

I mentioned above that I had some digestive disorders caused by having such large babies and residual skin left over from that event.

One of my problems - I think - is acid reflux. I have severe heart burn and, if I eat too much, I can feel the food drifting back up my throat and into my mouth. I've never been diagnosed with it, but I HAVE noticed that my front top teeth are losing their enamel on the back. I googled some pics and saw a bulimic's teeth that looked very similar to mine (mine aren't as bad, but the dentin is showing through on the top four teeth).

Is that what it is? The acid eating at your teeth? You can PM me if you don't want to discuss it on this board - but I'm wondering if, after I give birth, I should really chuck the Tagamet's (which I can't take right now in my "condition" - I live off Tums) and go to a doctor AND a dentist about this.

It was amazing to see the pictures of those teeth and think, "God, those look like mine, but I'm not bulimic."

[AlCzervik]

21. yes its acid without a doubt and you need to get out in front it of now.

having my teeth fixed was the last step in treatment for me. Please also go see your dentist and see if they can recommend a treatment or product for you.

[Clark2008]

22. What do they do to rebuild the enamel?

Or do you just have to have them capped?

I knew I had some digestive problems, but it really wasn't until I saw the teeth pictures that I thought my acid problem was probably in need of a doctor's attention instead of just over-the-counter aid.

Thanks!

Happy Valentine's Day - and I'm glad you got your health problems under control.

[AlCzervik]

23. Thank you. I lost about 5 teeth so i had some implants, about 8 veneers

and 2 crowns. You might go the veneer route.

[Hekate]

30. Bring this up with your regular doctor or a gastroenterologist

That much acid reflux is damaging more than your back teeth. My doctor tells me that GERD is now implicated in esophegeal cancer -- and mine is nowhere near as bad as yours.

I take Nexium. Other management options include slanting your mattress (didn't work well for me -- or my husband) and not eating within 3 hours of bedtime.

It does sound like you might want to try eating small meals more often to lessen the amount of pressure on your system at any one time.

But do bring it up with your doctor. And if he doesn't seem all that concerned, see a specialist. You can read up on it in advance by googling GERD.

Best of luck,

Hekate

[LostinVA]

19. From Snopes -- Emaciated Models

http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/models.asp


(And yes, the ones in the real photos are horribly thin, and the design/fashion industry has ALOT to answer for.)

[XemaSab]

24. Undoctored photo:

shit, can't link photos :P

[pippin]

25. How Can This Be Beautiful?

[LostinVA]

39. The bottom one is fake

As I linked above.

[Crabby Appleton]

35. those pics are awful nt

[Dorian Gray]

26. Wow, Just.... wow.

That is stunning. Disturbing. Bizarre. And Sad.

How awful for the parents. I don't know how thin the second daughter was, but after the first one died, you'd think there'd be some sort of intervention if she was living an extremely unheatlthy lifestyle.

[w8liftinglady]

29. if you or someone you know might have an ED..

http://www.something-fishy.org/

I recommend this site highly-deals with all sorts of eating disorders.

[gratefultobelib]

31. Once an eating disorder "sets in," it is very, very hard to fully recover from it. I speak

from the experience of having had one for 5 yrs now--anorexia. I'm at a decent weight, not dangerous; I know I'd look better if I gained 10 lbs or so, but is too scary to contemplate. When you see someone spotlighted in the news or tabloids and you're thinking, "Good Lord, she looks awful! Doesn't she KNOW how horrible she looks?" Well, the answer is "not really."

And yes--Somthing Fishy is a great site!

[w8liftinglady]

32. you are right.i developed an ED in my teens-still fight the urge to purge in my 40's

[gratefultobelib]

33. Oh yeah. I hear you. I fight that, too.

[SeattleGirl]

36. Damn! That's so freakin' sad, that someone has to die for their

efforts to be the "perfect woman." :grr: