The modeling industry has long been criticized for its unrealistic beauty standards, and while recent years have seen the rise of body positivity and self-love movements, many young women still face dangerous pressures to conform. In Russia, twin sisters Masha and Dasha Ledeneva nearly lost their lives as teenagers after extreme dieting pushed their bodies to the brink. At just 14 years old, the girls, already tall and naturally slim, enrolled in a modeling school that set a strict 50-kilogram weight limit. Initially, their diets were mild, but a competitive drive to lose more weight spiraled out of control. Soon, they were eating no more than a spoonful of buckwheat for lunch, reducing their intake to as little as 300 calories a day, and celebrating dangerously low numbers on the scale.

By the time they reached 38 kilograms, the effects were devastating. Masha fainted in public, and both sisters experienced constant weakness and near-collapse. Despite their mother’s pleas, the influence of modeling agencies — who told them they “looked better” — only fueled their obsession. Eventually, their health deteriorated so badly that hospitalization became unavoidable. Doctors treated them as if they were already on the verge of death, and at one point Masha told her mother she might as well stop visiting because they were “just going to die here.” The turning point came when their mother’s tears convinced them to start fighting for their lives.

Recovery was far from straightforward. Though they were discharged from the hospital after gaining weight, Dasha relapsed, and Masha’s fear of losing her sister pushed her to intervene. The twins were readmitted, this time requiring intensive care, feeding through a catheter, and months of psychological treatment. With support from doctors, therapists, and their family, they eventually reached healthy weights again. Today, they share their story on social media to warn others about the dangers of extreme dieting and anorexia.

Not everyone in similar situations is as fortunate. The story of Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos is a tragic example of how lethal these pressures can be. In 2006, at the age of 22, Ramos collapsed from heart failure during Fashion Week after subsisting on little more than lettuce and sugar-free cola. Her death shocked the industry, but tragedy struck again when her younger sister Elina died of the same condition just six months later. Both young women suffered from anorexia brought on by the same unrealistic beauty ideals that had nearly claimed the Ledeneva twins’ lives.

While body positivity and self-acceptance movements have made progress in challenging harmful norms, the fashion industry’s legacy of promoting dangerously thin body types continues to claim victims. The Ledeneva sisters’ survival and recovery stand as a rare success story, showing that with intervention, support, and determination, it is possible to break free from the cycle. But for many others, the relentless pursuit of the so-called “ideal” figure still comes at the ultimate cost — their health and their lives.