Size zero

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Size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system equivalent to a UK size 4. It is also a concept within the European fashion media relating to models with low body mass.

Size Zero Bust size: 31.5 inches (80 cm); Waist size: 23 inches (60 cm); Hip size: 34 inches (86 cm). It is often mistaken for a petite size because it is so small. While many petite women do wear size 0, the true definition of petite sizes in the fashion world has more to do with height than with thinness; in the United States, it generally refers to a woman who is under 5'4" (163 cm).

1 Fashion concept
2 Effects of size zero
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Fashion concept

In European fashion circles, the concept of 'size zero' models has gained recent notoriety in the media when the organizers of Madrid fashion week 2006 prohibited models with a Body Mass Index below 18 — classified as unhealthy by the World Health Organization — from participating in the event. International debate followed concerning the purported effects upon impressionable people of the fashion industry's continued use of underweight models. Models like teenager Lily Cole are main talking points in the on-going debate of the size 0 figure, particularly about whether it is natural or healthy.

[edit] Effects of size zero

Size zero can seriously damage a person's health. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia are connected with Size Zero, as many women have to lose a high amount of weight to become so slim. The deaths of models Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston have been attributed to the Size Zero trend. Luisel Ramos, aged 22, died of a heart attack last August after trying to live on just Diet Coke and lettuce leaves. Since then Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston also died because of the pressures of becoming slimmer; she lived on just apples and tomatoes, and because of this developed kidney failure and died.

Some women, however, can naturally be size zero without any health detriments.