Israel has just become the first country ever to pass a law banning the use of “underweight” models. The new law requires that all models show current health records to prove that their BMI is higher than the World Health Organization’s indication of malnourishment – a BMI of 18.5 – at all shoots to be used in the Israeli market.
It also requires that all Israeli publications and advertisements must have a CLEARLY written notice when they alter an image to make models appear thinner. Finally, photoshopping exposed!
The law comes just weeks after a groundbreaking study in London that found that people are overwhelmingly influenced by the beauty standards in their environment, and that banning overly skinny models from catwalks and magazine ads may prevent the eating disorder epidemic. “We found evidence that social pressure, through peer shape, is a determinant in explaining anorexia nervosa and a distorted self-perception of one’s own body,” said researchers.
Unfortunately, the law won’t apply to foreign publications that are sold in the country, but it is a step in the right direction. Most countries just rely on the modeling industry to regulate itself, like the United State’s CFDA model health guidelines. Israel may not have a huge fashion industry, but they are certainly setting a good example for the rest of the world, taking a big step toward the key goal: promoting more realistic, attainable body images among girls and women.
Photo: Ana Carolina Reston, who died in 2006 from anorexia. Sipa Press/Rex Features