After years of debate, the French government recently passed a new law that bans excessively thin models from working in France.
Ultra-thin models need to provide a doctor's certificate if they want to strut down the runway. The doctor's certificate should prove their overall health and should show that their "body mass index is appropriate for the job," an article on Cosmopolitan.com stated. The law also mentioned that advertisements that feature models whose body shapes were altered should label it "photograph edited."
There's a stiff penalty for agencies and companies who hire extremely thin models. Those who violate this new law could face six months of jail time and fines of 75,000 euros (or around $82,000). Those who violate the law on digitally altered images could incur fines of $40,600 or up to 30 percent of expenses relating to the advertisement. To elaborate, if a fashion agency hires a model with a BMI under 18, which is around 121 pounds for a 5-foot-7-inch model, they could face up to six months in jail and the fine.
This latest measure is part of an ongoing effort to combat and stamp out anorexia, an eating disorder that now has a high mortality rate, in the fashion industry.
Reports indicate that France has more than 30,000 women suffering from anorexia, almost all of them adolescents. It was also mentioned that about 20 percent of girls have restricted their eating at some point in their lives.
French health minister Marisol Touraine said "This is an important message to young women who see these models as an aesthetic example."
Harvard public health experts are encouraging the US government to follow France's lead in regulating the hiring of excessively thin models. They said by joining, both countries can send a "powerful message to the fashion world -- and help prevent serious health problems among young women, including anorexia nervosa and death from starvation," an article on Today.com stated.