SAO PAULO, Brazil - A 21-year-old anorexic model who weighed only 88 pounds has died of generalized infection, a hospital said. Ana Carolina Reston, who had worked in China, Turkey, Mexico and Japan for several modeling agencies, died Tuesday, according to Sao Paulo's Servidor Publico Hospital.

The hospital said the infection that killed the 5-foot-8-inch model was caused by anorexia nervosa, a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese, an aversion to food and severe weight loss.

"Take care for your children because their loss is irreparable," Reston's mother, Miriam, told the O Globo newspaper. "Nothing can make the pain go away. No money in the world is worth the life of your child."

Reston began her modeling career at the age of 13 after winning a local beauty contest in her hometown of Jundiai, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

"I noticed something was wrong when she returned from Japan," Miriam told the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper. "She was too thin when she returned and when I told her to eat something, she would say: 'Mom please don't fight with me; there is nothing wrong with me, I'm fine.'"

The model's cousin, Dani Grimaldi, told the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that Reston also battled bulimia, an eating disorder marked by binge eating that is followed by vomiting or the use of laxatives.

The world of high fashion and modeling has long been targeted by critics who say it encourages women and girls to emulate rail-thin models.

In September, a Spanish fashion show responded to such criticism by banning models with a body mass index of less than 18. Body mass index is a calculation doctors normally apply to study obesity, and anyone with an index below 18.5 is considered underweight.

Reston would have had a body mass index of 13.4 at the time of her death, according to a calculator on the Web site of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is so sad.

Its so sad that these young people beleive that they have to starve themselves to work. The sad thing is they are told that by the people who hire them.

she was like 5'8" and weighed 88 pounds!!!! and no one did anything

and this is what society belives we should strive for.
to be not as skinny as her but skinny. it is a tragedy that no one could help her to help herself. May God take care of her now

"and this is what society belives we should strive for.
to be not as skinny as her but skinny. it is a tragedy that no one could help her to help herself. May God take care of her now"

I agree, grumpy1. I saw a model interviewed and she said she personally was lucky to be very tall and genetically thin but if she were not she would not be in the business because if you're not genetically skinny you absolutely have to starve. There is no "healthy" way for the average woman to be skinny enough to do runway modelling. The industry's norm is the exact opposite to the norm of everyday people and the norm of what is healthy. What a terrible shame that young women not only struggle with this but actually die from it. I hope others seek help after this wakeup call. Rest in peace, Carolina.

too bad she couldnt accept herself the way she was.

and what is even worse is most of us can't accept ourselves for who we are, inside and out

Accepting yourself appears to be a life long journey and not many can even succumb to it. (did that sound kind of smart? (succumb was added even though i have no idea what it means)

fat ppl wan2 be thin
thin ppl wan2 be fat
and models have to stive to stay thin in order to keep their jobs.
they litterally kill themselves to stay woking

two more have now died from the same illness.

IF THEY CAN HELP WITH OTHER PROBLEMS, WHY NOT THIS ONE?

That is so sad What's even worse is how many girls want so badly to look like that.

that is excatly what i was trying to say!
perfectly worded