Many countries have tried to ban the use of photo-shopping models claiming that they are bad role models but no country has gone as far as Israel. Yesterday I read an article on NY mag about how Israel has passed a law which states that models must show full health records and not be under the recommended BMI for their weight and height.Israel has a fairly small fashion industry and so it will be interesting to see the results and outcomes of this law, and whether it will have any implications in the fashion industry worldwide.
Anyone with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of below 18.5 is considered to be underweight. Likewise anyone with an index of 25 or more is said to be overweight. BMI measures the ratio between weight and height to be determined. Athletes, whom are seen as being "fit and healthy", are often considered "overweight" in terms of BMI as muscle weighs more than fat- so it really can only be seen as a guideline.
This new law in Israel seeks to put a stop to the use of underweight models who are seen on the big stage and are looked up to. Is super skinny beautiful? In a world which is struggling to determine what is beauty and has the extremes of people being excessively overweight and extremely underweight it is a brave move by Israel. I hope that this sort of attitude is adopted worldwide to help stop the obscuring of what true beauty is, and to help young and old people alike come to terms with their body. Self esteem is a massive issue in this debate and this move by Israel will hopefully make people see themselves in a different light. Yes it is nice to be slim, but it is the balance of being healthy and exercising in moderation which needs to be considered.
It will be very interesting to see where this story goes.
Full story found here: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/03/israel-passes-law-banning-underweight-models.html?mid=twitter_thecutblog
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