The Truth About Size Zero

Last updated

The Truth About Size Zero [1]
Directed byKaren Plumb
Produced by
  • Jo Shinner
  • Karen Plumb
Starring Louise Redknapp
Narrated by Fiona Allen
Production
company
RDF Media Ltd.
Distributed by ITV
Release date
  • 7 March 2007 (2007-03-07)
Running time
70 min
Country UK
LanguageEnglish

The Truth About Size Zero is a TV documentary starring English singer, songwriter, and media personality, Louise Redknapp. Redknapp, concerned about the pressures that women face to be very thin, decided to document what happens when she tries to drop two dress sizes in 30 days. She describes the documentary as her proudest moment away from music. [2] The documentary originally aired on ITV1.

Contents

Content

The documentary began with Redknapp taking a trip to Los Angeles, California to meet "Bootcamp Barry" (Barry Jay), founder of Barry's Bootcamp, who is a military-style diet and fitness guru in Hollywood. Based on his advice, Redknapp undertakes a gruelling diet and fitness regime with a goal to lose two dress sizes in 30 days. Over the course of the experiment, she is closely monitored by a dietitian and physician, who highlight the dangers of crash dieting and low body weight, and track Redknapp as her health begins to deteriorate. They advise her to stop her diet and exercise plan, warning her of the health dangers and potential to develop an eating disorder, but she chose to continue because of how strong she felt about the problem of people trying to reach size 0.

During the course of the documentary, Redknapp visited different locations to talk to people. She visited with friend and actress Denise van Outen in Los Angeles, and they discussed van Outen's experiences with people the pressure to lose weight. She went to Rhodes Farm Clinic to meet with several young women who are recovering from anorexia or bulimia to talk about their experiences with eating disorders. She also met with Spice Girl Mel C ("Sporty Spice") to discuss her severe eating disorder during her time the Spice Girls and the media portrayal. She met with her school friend, "Sophie," who had suffered with a severe eating disorder during her teenage years, and they talked about the experience of low caloric intake. She visited her old stage school the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts to talk with students and warn them about the horrors of crash dieting. She presented Clothes Show Live in Birmingham, and while she was there, she interviewed some models, and talked to a model manager about the dangers of the pressure that models are under to be very thin.

As inspiration for her weight loss, Redknapp had bought a size 0 dress to wear at the end of the experiment. She was able to fit into the dress by the end, but she hated the dress and wanted to get out of it because of what she and her friends and family had been through because of her experiment. At the end of the documentary, she threw out the dress, and went out with her friends to eat.

To return to a healthy weight, Redknapp when on a supervised re-eating programme after the documentary was complete. [3]

Experiment

During the diet, which Redknapp maintained for 30 days, she survived on less than 800 calories per day, eating a low carb diet of oats or omelettes for breakfast, berries (but not after 11:00 AM), fish and green vegetables for lunch and supper, and water, and every day she ran three miles and lifted weights for one hour. She briefly attempted to use a fat burning suit, but was too sick from her dieting to be able to try the suit. She became increasingly ill over the course of making the documentary. [3] [4] [5]

Results

Over the course of the 30 days, Redknapp lost 11 lb (5 kg), went from a UK size 8 (USA size 4) to a UK size 4 (USA size 0), went down two cup sizes, and her BMI dropped from a healthy 19.4 to an underweight 17.6. [3] She began struggling with day-to-day functions, becoming short tempered and irritable, started having memory problems, started having trouble sleeping, lost her libido, and found her life being controlled by her eating. [5] [6] She appeared gaunt, had developed poor skin colour and dry skin, and had little energy. [3] She said that the experience had been very hard on her family, left her a wreck, and she would never do it again. [3] [4] [6]

Medically, there were other concerns. Her estrogen levels dropped to levels seen in post-menopausal women, increasing her risk of osteoporosis and impacting her fertility. She lost 5 lb of muscle, reducing her metabolic rate, putting her at risk of developing increased body fat and yo-yo dieting if not careful. Her doctor felt that her body could recover, but if she were to prolong her diet and exercise regime, she would make herself very unwell. [3]

Controversy

Redknapp's documentary was not without controversy, and was attacked not long after being released. On pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia forums, people praised her for the food information and dieting tips, calling her an inspiration and a hero. [7] There was also criticism that the documentary did not discuss the editing of celebrity photos that presents unrealistic body types, and Redknapp's continuation with her weight loss plan against the advice of her physician as presenting a very damaging message. [8]

Sequel

In 2009, Redknapp created a follow-up documentary called The Truth About Super Skinny Pregnancies that explored the pressures that women face to stay in shape during pregnancies and to lose weight post pregnancy. [9]

Related Research Articles

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulimia nervosa</span> Type of eating disorder

Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. This activity aims to expel the body of calories eaten from the binging phase of the process. Binge eating refers to eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time. Purging refers to the attempts to get rid of the food consumed. This may be done by vomiting or taking laxatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appetite</span> Desire to eat food

Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Appetite has a relationship with every individual's behavior. Appetitive behaviour also known as approach behaviour, and consummatory behaviour, are the only processes that involve energy intake, whereas all other behaviours affect the release of energy. When stressed, appetite levels may increase and result in an increase of food intake. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia is increased eating. Dysregulation of appetite contributes to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating, and binge eating disorder.

Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana. Pro-ana groups differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics; a place to turn to, to discuss their illness, and to support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a lifestyle choice that should be respected by doctors and family.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without the compensatory behaviors common to bulimia nervosa, OSFED, or the binge-purge subtype of anorexia nervosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Redknapp</span> British singer

Louise Elizabeth Redknapp is an English singer and media personality. She was a member of Eternal, an R&B girl group which debuted in 1993 with their quadruple-platinum studio album Always & Forever. In 1995, she departed from the group for a solo career. Aside from music, Redknapp has presented several television shows and was a judge on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance. She was married to the English former footballer Jamie Redknapp. In 2016, Redknapp reached the final in the fourteenth series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. Redknapp's memoir entitled You've Got This: And Other Things I Wish I Had Known was released in 2021.

<i>The Beauty Myth</i> 1990 nonfiction book by Naomi Wolf

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women is a nonfiction book by Naomi Wolf, originally published in 1990 by Chatto & Windus in the UK and William Morrow & Co (1991) in the United States. It was republished in 2002 by HarperPerennial with a new introduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Ashworth</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Hannah Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 27 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010. It was announced on 8 November 2023 that she was to return after 13 years away for a number of episodes in early January, and was later announced to be making a permanent return. Hannah briefly returned for a short stint from 19 to 23 January 2024, before a permanent return on 26 April of the same year.

Purging disorder is an eating disorder characterized by the DSM-5 as self-induced vomiting, or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas to forcefully evacuate matter from the body. Purging disorder differs from bulimia nervosa (BN) because individuals do not consume a large amount of food before they purge. In current diagnostic systems, purging disorder is a form of other specified feeding or eating disorder. Research indicates that purging disorder, while not rare, is not as commonly found as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. This syndrome is associated with clinically significant levels of distress, and that it appears to be distinct from bulimia nervosa on measures of hunger and ability to control food intake. Some of the signs of purging disorder are frequent trips to the bathroom directly after a meal, frequent use of laxatives, and obsession over one's appearance and weight. Other signs include swollen cheeks, popped blood vessels in the eyes, and clear teeth which are all signs of excessive vomiting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of food</span>

The sociology of food is the study of food as it relates to the history, progression, and future development of society, encompassing its production, preparation, consumption, and distribution, its medical, ritual, spiritual, ethical and cultural applications, and related environmental and labor issues.

<i>Thin</i> (film) 2006 film

Thin is a 2006 cinéma vérité documentary film directed by Lauren Greenfield and distributed by HBO. It was filmed at The Renfrew Center of Florida in Coconut Creek, a 40-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. The center has been described as "one of the nation's best-known inpatient eating disorders centres". The film follows four women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders in their struggle for recovery. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in 2005, before premiering to the general public on November 14, 2006 on HBO.

Alexandra Nicole Michael, is an American model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anorexia nervosa</span> Type of eating disorder

Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is derived from both the cognitive and behavioral schools of psychology and focuses on the alteration of thoughts and actions with the goal of treating various disorders. The cognitive behavioral treatment of eating disorders emphasizes on the minimization of negative thoughts about body image and the act of eating, and attempts to alter negative and harmful behaviors that are involved in and perpetuate eating disorders. It also encourages the ability to tolerate negative thoughts and feelings as well as the ability to think about food and body perception in a multi-dimensional way. The emphasis is not only placed on altering cognition, but also on tangible practices like making goals and being rewarded for meeting those goals. CBT is a "time-limited and focused approach" which means that it is important for the patients of this type of therapy to have particular issues that they want to address when they begin treatment. CBT has also proven to be one of the most effective treatments for eating disorders.

Drunkorexia is a colloquialism for anorexia or bulimia combined with an alcohol use disorder. The term is generally used to denote the utilization of extreme weight control methods to compensate for planned binge drinking. Research on the combination of an eating disorder and binge drinking has primarily focused on college-aged women, though the phenomenon has also been noted among young men. Studies suggest that individuals engage in this combination of self-imposed malnutrition and binge drinking to avoid weight gain from alcohol, to save money for purchasing alcohol, and to facilitate alcohol intoxication.

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References

  1. "The Truth About Size Zero". IMDB. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  2. Louise On Her Career & ‘The Truth About Size Zero’ Documentary! (Television production). UK: AOL Build UK. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karen Plumb (director) (7 March 2007). The Truth About Size Zero (Television production). UK: RDF Media Ltd.
  4. 1 2 "Louise Redknapp: I liked being size zero, but…". Now Magazine. TI Media Limited. CelebsNow. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 White, Adam (15 December 2016). "Who is Louise Redknapp? All you need to know about the Strictly Come Dancing finalist". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Louise's size 0 nightmare". What's on TV. TI Media Limited. 4 January 2007.
  7. Metro Reporter (9 March 2007). "Louise Redknapp's The Truth About Size Zero becomes 'thinspiration'". Metro. Associated Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. JACQ (6 March 2012). "The Truth About Size Zero". What Jacq did next (blog). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. Moon, Naomi (15 December 2019). "Louise Redknapp talks about her new album and UK tour". Lancaster Guardian. JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 14 July 2020.