In an interview with Variety, Reynolds, 27, of Pennsylvania, shared that he received a lot of unscientific, unsafe advice on weight control at the age of 16.

Reynolds said she was recruited by Click Model Management in New York at the age of 15. At the time, she weighed 120 pounds, which was considered “too fat.” After losing 20 pounds to 112 pounds, Reynolds signed with Next, a well-known modeling agency. However, her manager was still unhappy with her appearance. An anonymous employee taught her how to swallow cotton balls to stave off hunger.

“I remember the rep saying the cotton balls were organic. I just had to swallow them to feel full,” she said.

Reynolds' poor diet led her to quit modeling. She suffered seizures and liver failure from frequent fasting.

"No one cares about the problems of models because they think that only beautiful people have to deal with them. They think that every model is like Kendall Jenner, getting paid $10 million for a selfie on Instagram. But the reality is that the rest of us are living in starvation hell," she said.

According to doctors, this is one of the dangerous ways to keep fit because cotton fibers contain chemicals that are not good for health. In addition, the forced feeding of functional foods that have the effect of expanding the stomach, along with the pressure of the modeling profession, causes many girls to fall into anorexia nervosa.

This is an eating disorder that causes a restriction of energy intake compared to needs. Patients will feel afraid of gaining weight, and may not even realize the seriousness when their body weight drops significantly. Anorexia nervosa can cause sudden death due to heart rhythm disturbances and electrolyte imbalances in the body. In addition, people with the disease may suffer from depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and drug abuse.

According to a survey conducted by Model Alliance magazine, of 85 models, two-thirds revealed that they had been advised to lose weight and 70% suffered from anxiety and depression. Many models were not warned about the pressures of this harsh industry. Among them, anorexia has killed many of them.

"They made me cut out all chips from my diet. I couldn't even run, I could only do yoga because running makes you build muscle. It was horrible," said Emily Davies, a 20-year-old model.

Reynolds also said that many of her colleagues had to "vomit everything they ate just to fit into size 0 clothes" at Fashion Week. "Size 0 girls" are the name given to super skinny models, with slim figures, measuring 76-56-81.

During a 2014 photo shoot in Reykjavík, Iceland, Reynolds and another model were forced to climb a glacier in freezing temperatures, wearing nothing but a sheer dress and high heels. The photographer asked her to “jump off a cliff, plunging at least 20 feet,” but the stylist intervened to stop her from doing so.

Thuc Linh (According to New York Post )