Body Image 31 (2019) 150–159 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Body Image journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bodyimage Self-determined motivation for eating behavior regulation and sociocultural influences among Romanian fashion models Simona Alexandra Zancu a , Rachel F. Rodgers b,c , Violeta Enea a,∗ a Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Ias ¸ i, Romania b Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, USA c Department of Psychiatric Emergency & Acute Care, Lapeyronie Hospital, CHR Montpellier, France a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 18 October 2018 Received in revised form 3 October 2019 Accepted 4 October 2019 Keywords: Eating disorders Body image Fashion models Policy Eating regulation Self-determination a b s t r a c t There is growing interest in understanding the ways in which legislation and policy may help to decrease the risk for body image and eating concerns among fashion models. Romania is one of the few countries in which occupation standards exist for professional models. The purposes of this study were three-fold: (1) to investigate the level of sociocultural risk factors among Romanian fashion models compared with a matched control group, (2) to compare the rates of eating disorders and healthy behaviors, and (3) to compare levels of self-determination for eating behavior regulation and its association with eating disorders symptoms and healthy eating behavior. Results indicated that: (1) fashion models reported lower body shape concerns compared with female controls likely driven by their lower body mass index (BMI), (2) eating disorder symptom rates were similar between the two groups, and (3) autonomous regulation of eating behavior was not significantly higher in fashion models. The findings from this study suggest that in Romania, where occupation standards exist, a large proportion of fashion models report very low BMIs. However, both fashion models and matched controls presented similarly high levels of body image and eating concerns. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The pressure placed upon fashion models to be extremely slen- der has raised concerns regarding their risk for disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders (Soltis, 2009; van Hanswijck de Jonge & van Furth, 1999). However, the extant research has been mixed regarding the rates of eating disorder behaviors among fash- ion models (Zancu & Enea, 2017). Specifically, it has been suggested that while rates of disordered eating may be higher among models, rates of clinical-level eating disorders may not be higher among models compared with young women from the general popula- tion. In the context of these nuanced findings, the fashion industry has been identified as an important area for focusing prevention efforts, within both targeted and universal approaches (Rodgers, Ziff, Lowy, Yu, & Austin, 2017). In some countries such as France, recent legislation has aimed to protect models by mandating health certificates for models participating in fashion shows (Ministère ∗ Corresponding at: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educa- tion Sciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 3 Toma Cozma Street, Iasi, Romania. E-mail address: violeta.enea@uaic.ro (V. Enea). des affaires sociales et de la santé, 2017). However, the impact of these measures is still unclear to date. In other countries, such as Romania, for the past decade, the work of professional fashion models has been regulated by occupational standards that are developed and enforced by the National Authority for Qualification (the organization responsible for overseeing, evaluating, and accrediting professional training and regulating the qualifications required to work as a profes- sional fashion model). The standards set out the competencies, knowledge and skills required to practice activities specific to pro- fessional fashion models and outline specific criteria, including physical and health status requirements related to the demands of this occupation (Bolea, 2006; Standard Ocupational: Manechin, 2006). Specifically, the criteria require models to maintain their health status through healthy eating, balanced nutrition, a bal- anced and healthy lifestyle, appropriate sleep and personal hygiene, the avoidance of health-risks, and seeking regular medical check- ups (Standard Ocupational: Manechin, 2006). Concerning physical indices, the Romanian standards do not stipulate specific measure- ments, but require models to maintain their physical shape, fitness and healthy tonus necessary for performance, through appropri- ate levels of regular physical exercise and healthy eating patterns (Standard Ocupational: Manechin, 2006). Compliance with pro- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.10.003 1740-1445/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.