Hollywood's Dangerous Weight-Loss Secret

Models, Celebs Drop Pounds With Drug Made To Treat Asthma In Horses

(CBS)  The recent death of 21-year-old anorexic model Ana Carolina Reston has many people concerned that the extremely skinny ideal in fashion and in Hollywood is spinning out of control.

Size zero and smaller is the goal for many starlets and young tabloid readers, who follow in their footsteps, and extreme dieting is raging through Hollywood like a competitive sport.

In part one of The Early Show series "Losing It" E! Entertainment News anchor Giuliana DePandi reports that the pressure on actresses and models to be thin causes some to find dangerous ways to find ways to speed their weight-loss along.

More people seem to be turning to drugs like Clenbuterol, which is approved in the United States to treat asthma in horses. The side effect of Clenbuterol, or "Clen," is that it builds muscle and results in temporary weight loss.

"I hear it a lot in my gym, and it's a dangerous drug," Hollywood fitness trainer Jackie Warner said. "There isn't a magic pill. If there was … I'm a business person, I'd be selling it; I'd be taking it."

But in Hollywood, some people are willing to trade their health to be thin. Celebrities and models are dissected on the red carpets and runways and face a lot of pressure to look perfect.

"If you're thin, you're successful," said Ken Baker, West Coast executive editor at Us Weekly. "It has become this epidemic that you have to be thin, and too thin is never thin enough."

"It's brutal, Hollywood is brutal," Warner said. "It's getting very intense because the competition between especially young actresses is so extreme."

Scarlett Pomers, who starred on The CW sitcom "Reba," is recovering from an eating disorder and says many young actresses feel they have to get skinny if they want to work.

"I definitely have heard horror stories from other actresses and actors, too, that have been told, 'Well, lose 15 pounds and you can get the part,' " she said. "It really just puts you in this place where you kind of don't know what's normal or not."

"A lot of these women in Hollywood are under such extreme pressure that they'll go to extreme measures to get the look they want," Baker said.

Some say Clenbuterol has become Hollywood's dirty little secret. Hollywood hairstylist Ricardo Reyes has used the drug to drop weight.

"Why get there in three months when you can get there in a month?" he said.

[ecuadoriana]

If a model insists that she was "forced" to starve to keep her job, she could quit. If you stand strong in who you are then no one can force you to do anything against your principals.

[ecuadoriana]

Eliemouse-
You mentioned one of my most favourite movies- "REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES" !Gracias! chica.

For anyone unfamiliar with the film, it stars America Ferrara, the beautiful young lady who was in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" & now stars in the TV show "Ugly Betty". She is a breath of fresh air! Thank goodness someone in Hollywoodland is starting to get some sense.

"Real Women Have Curves" addresses the issue that young girls face concerning their bodies, self image, & self esteem. Her character embraces her voluptuous body & stands strong; she will not allow outside forces to dictate to her what her life should be. She knows who she is, what she wants for her life, & rejects what she knows are false ideals. A telling moment in the film is the realisation that her own mother is dealing with her own personal body image shame & has been placing the blame on the daughter, as though, somehow, the daughter is the one to blame for the mother's wide hips & stretch marks.

Children learn the most at their parent's knee. To "blame" Hollywood, TV, etc. is looking for a scapegoat. Parents have the most influence in their children's lives. Healthy eating habits, family exercise (channel surfing doesn't count as exercise!), work ethic, open & frank communication are the foundation stones to a healthy family.

[nightgazer2]

Sorry the soap box only allows for 1500 characters%u2026. Sooo; Teaching our children that exercise should be done even when we are at a healthy weight, not only because we are overweight, is a good the baby step, and if there is a medical issue then this is a whole neither can of worms. I could go on and on, the point is, teach our children by actions and words, and when we send them out into the world, these socialites and movie stars, stick thin models won%u2019t be their role models, we will be, their family, or some other healthy role model. But, the real world does not work like this, and the sad truth is, parents don%u2019t teach there babes these things, they stuff cookies and a soda and the tv, videos games in front of them, then wonder why when they are overweight being teased at school or by their peers, why some of them go through such extremes to be perfect, sink into a depressed or act out. They use descriptive words like fat, slob, huge, pig, and so on when looking at themselves and others in public and tv. Wake up parents, stop blaming, and yes, I too do blame the publicity too, they should take part in the weight blame game too. People take responsibility for your own self and teach your children, teach healthy %u201Chabit%u201D, %u201Clife styles%u201D. Get help if needed, no one life is perfect, but the buck stops at home. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving Posters!

[nightgazer2]

I have yet to see any one mention the fact that some of these individuals who have eating %u201Cdisorders%u201D %u201Cillness%u201D %u201Cdiseases%u201D whatever those of you out there want to label it; struggle with personal emotional and mental issues and that we as parents are first and foremost, first children who are parented and then sent out into the world..hummm. First, I am speaking of personality disorders, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and so on; that has triggered, the control issues, self-esteem and self-image issues, obsessive/self-abusive issues, that we don%u2019t see in some of these people. Sure, there are those out there that are simply just %u201Cdying to be thin%u201D and doing just about anything to do it, self-absorbed. Then I say, if we parent%u2019s should provide the foundation for our children, the importance of acceptances of oneself and those around us regardless of size, color or race, and teach them from the cradle how to eat healthy and staying physical active, healthy on the inside is what is important, and most of the time healthy on the outside follows. Then regardless of the McDonalds down the street, or Dairy Queen, our children would be able to go out there and make the choices to eat healthy, say NO, and come to us for advice, not pics, magazines. They learn from example, and experience. Those children grow into adults and these adults are whom all of use and those out there we are so brutally ripping apart.

[twopennies]

This is a serious medication. I don't think that many doctors understand the side effects. People should talk to the pharmacist before taking any medication.
Posted by mesapam at 10:25 AM : Nov 22, 2006

This might win the ignorant comment of the year award. You dont think that doctors understand the side effects of this medication? Maybe your friend wasn't completely honest with her docotr regarding the reasons she was taking the medecine. ALWAYS consult your doctor regarding medications your interested or needing to take or wanting to quit. There are side effects to every medication available. There is a reason pharmacists cant prescribe medication, only give advice, always check with a doc first.

[cantshutup]

It's too bad so many people are so insecure that they'd let these loosers in hollywood set the standards of what is acceptable...wake up people! Hollywood is full of stupid, ignorant, degenerates that don't deserve all the glory people put on them!

[ladycascadia]

woah...I just went back and read Vigilante's comment. Hmmm...so much for compassion! Any attacks he or she gets are totally deserved...

I guess I want to know why can't people just let other people be? Why is it so important that EVERYONE look the same and be the same size? That makes no sense whatsoever...

[ladycascadia]

What's with the attack on Vigilante? Thin does not equate pretty. For the record, I am 45 y/o, and a "big girl"...over 200 lbs, I keep fit with bicycling, walking, and dancing (both ballroom and Middle Eastern) and I look and feel darned good too! It is possible...

[ladycascadia]

This is a pretty sad commentary on society, no doubt. It seems like people care more about what a person looks like on the outside than what they're personality and character is like...or in the case of Hollywood, whether or not the person has true talent!

Like Susan Powter would say, STOP THE INSANITY! I'm sorry but if ingesting dangerous drugs is what it takes to be thin and famous...then I'd rather be fat...and unknown...and ALIVE!

[lthomas0301]

Vigilante,

You sound almost smug about your weight... give it up, are you height/weight proportioned?

People can judge MY weight all they want, I just don't give them credence. They have no idea that I take meds that make me gain weight... oh, yeah, I used to be 5'7 and 120 lbs... before the meds. I guess I traded the stupid "I'm all it, I weigh this much and ha ha but I'm still shallow and empty inside" for sanity. B****.

[lthomas0301]

These walking skeletons have EATING disorders... and all the throwing up will rot out their teeth... so THERE, Portia de Rossi or whatever your name is. Get a psychiatrist like us supposedly fat girls!

[lthomas0301]

I am 5'7 and about 200 lbs and I look good! I am also a tomboy and I have never had a hangup about my weight, it fluctated from size 20 down to size 12, I have identical stuff in all sizes.

My weight depends on the medications I am taking... they ALL make you gain weight, and few (like Topamax) make you lose it.

I think that if your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure are in normal ranges, and you get out there and walk every day, and you know you don't pig out on junk, who cares what you weigh, you are healthy.

[lthomas0301]

I was taking Topomax for bi-polar, and after my hands and feet went numb and I had constant stomach cramps.... no more. I also felt like I was on uppers.

[mesapam]

I have epilepsy. I have been on topamax for years. When I first went on the drug, I lost the weight I gained when I was on a depacote, another seizure medication. Topamax causes memory loss, diziness, I was tired all the time when I first went on it. Most foods and smells make you sick to your stomach. At first I lived on scrambled eggs and cranberry juice. You require twice as much water as normal. If you don't get enough water, you get cramps. A woman I worked with started taking topamax to lose weight. She started out taking 1/2 pill a day. I was taking 4. She lost weight at first, but your body adapts and you need to keep increasing. Her parents got concerned and convinced her to quit taking the topamax. She went cold turkey and started to have seizures. This is a serious medication. I don't think that many doctors understand the side effects. People should talk to the pharmacist before taking any medication.

[veew59]

You know what bugs the heck out of me? I have a sister that's a nurse. In recent years she's put on a few pounds. Mainly because she's got such a busy schedule and she doesn't take the time to eat right. She eats mainly fast food, but she does take the time to exercise. That hasn't taken off the weight that she's gained. She is so self aware that she won't even show her face at her husband's baseball games because she's heavier than the other wives there. The horrible part is that she's so beautiful. If she could just get past her weight, she'd be fine. But she can't.

She was always the "thin" one when we were growing up. I had the weight problem and now I don't. She won't even hear it when the doctor tells me that I lost any weight. She gets angry. It's like she needs a fat buddy. But I can't be that since I'm not that person anymore. I eat healthier more than she does and she hates that. Even though she buys all her food at the health food store. But she won't cook. It's a task that she didn't learn, she learned the fashion aspect of being a woman, where I just couldn't care less. I was the tomboy. Even though our mother was a model, I still know all the things about how to walk and sit correctly, I just don't know the make-up angle. I also have a problem with hair. She does take the time to come over and make me up when I have special occasions.

[cntrygrllst]

This can't be a personal issue if you are the parent of a young child who is of the age that this is all they see. I have a beautiful healthy 15 year old daughter, she wears a size 7 jeans she is built like a healthy girl she has curves where they should be. However she is called "fat" every day at school because she is built well, and I refuse to let her diet. How many of our youngsters are going to die of eating disorders before Hollyweird realizes they are killing them because they think you have to be thin to be beautiful. Marilyn Monroe was not overly thin and she was amazing. Jane Mansfield was one of the most beautiful women to ever grace flim and she was not extremely thin these are the women I try to show my daughter as role models they were real not stick figures.
"REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES"

[veew59]

Is it just me or don't these women look sick? Whatever happened to the women of the 30's and 40's who looked normal? They had figures and a size 10 or 12 wasn't unheard of. Now it's tabu. What's that all about? You have to be a size zero or less, or you're not worth being in a film? That's whack as my young friends would say, excuse my language. Now that's my normal size. I am proud as heck when I am that size. I look great. I look normal. I don't look like a walking skeleton.

[veew59]

I am on Topamax for my epilepsy and I find repulsive that a doctor is using it to help with weight loss. I have to be on this medication for the rest of my life and believe me, I would rather not be on any medication at all. I'd rather have a normal life without seizures. This doctor should be reported to the medical board and his patients should be in therapy. There isn't a magic pill. Exercise and eating is the only thing that works. I know, I've done it and lost over 100+ pounds. That was before I was on this medication.

[msdantes]

Fantasy of fame and fortune (and therefore obsession with being thin) is a malady of our own way of thinking in USA.

[bob_burd]

Hey, how about that cocaine? Much more hip and trendy than weight loss pills and purging.

Selah