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And yet the questions of who is healthy and what is sexy cut to the heart of a renewed debate that is currently raging everywhere from message boards to movie sets to modeling agencies. What makes this controversy new is that for the first time both designers and stars have been put on the defensive: In Hollywood, stylemakers like Bosworth, 23, and Nicole Richie, 25, are setting troubling new standards for thinness, while in the fashion world, frail-looking runway models drew gasps at New York City's Fashion Week.
"In the past, some young models have had issues with eating disorders – but they were rapidly singled out and left with very little options other than to address their problem," says David Bonnouvrier, head of DNA Model Management. "The latest trend of skinny models, however, has allowed many of these young women to continue working, living in total denial." Adds Dr. Ira Sacker, a Manhattan-based eating disorder specialist and the coauthor of Dying to Be Thin: "I have a lot of A-list celebrities as clients, both actresses and models, and what they are telling me is that the pressure to be thin has never been greater. Why? Because whoever is thinner gets the job, and the competition is enormous."
