Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
In an attempt to discourage anorexia, a condition which reportedly affects up to 40,000 people (mostly women) in the country, the French Parliament has approved a measure that would ban the use of dangerously-thin female fashion models throughout the nation.
The measure was officially approved on Friday as part of a larger public health bill, explained the Associated Press, and while it would only apply in France, it is being viewed as a symbolic move designed to help wipe-out the eating disorder in the global fashion industry.
Violators would face fines and possible prison time
The measure, which goes to a full vote this week and would go to the Senate if approved, would prohibit anyone under a certain body mass index level from earning money as a model. It would fine any person or modeling agency that fell below that level (which is to be determined at a later date) up to $80,000 (75,000 euros), and they could also face six months in prison.
“It’s not just about protecting the models but also teenagers, because this body-image pressure also affects them and contributes to the emergence of eating disorders and tendencies to eat less and less,” neurologist and legislator Olivier Veran, who championed the bill, told the AP.
“The idea behind this law is not to send people to prison or fine them. The law will be dissuasive enough to make sure that the health of people working in the modeling industry is protected,” she added. A similar anti-anorexia law failed to pass the French legislature in 2008, but Israel and Spain have passed similar laws since then, according to the wire service report.
Debate over the bill and the definition of “underweight”
Supporters of the proposal said that the law will targeting modeling agencies, and is designed to keep women in the industry from feeling increased pressure to lose weight. The proposal does have some detractors, though, including some healthcare professionals who are concerned that it might make it more difficult to diagnose and treat younger women with anorexia.
The AP said that attempts to contact the French Fashion Federation for comments on the bill were unsuccessful, and that modeling agencies declined to comment until the proposed law is finalized. One unidentified agency rep said that there has been pressure from fashion designers to hire thin models, but insisted that his agency did not employ anyone with the disease.
According to the World Health Organization, a body mass index of under 18.5 is considered to be “underweight,” while the UK’s National Health Service said that anorexic adults tend to have a body mass index of less than 17.5, equivalent to a 5-foot-7, 112-pound woman. The minimum BMI for models would be determined at a later date if the law is officially approved.
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