In the 1920s, the
body mass index of
Miss America winners was between 20 and 25, considered
normal and
healthy. Since then, it has fallen to less than 18.5. The
World Health Organization (
WHO) considers this level to be
below the level of
undernourished. Researchers from
Johns Hopkins point out that some of the recent winners have had
BMIs as low as a staggering 16.9. (Naturally, this also means that any
breasts these winners have are thoroughly
artificial.)
Hollywood and
television actresses are also at the point of considering
size 4 to be
fat, and
size 0 to be
the norm. So if this keeps up, pretty soon the
Oscar nominees and
beauty pageant contestants will
vanish whenever they turn
sideways on the
catwalk--or maybe the
UN will have to
air-drop emergency food supplies.