France Government Likely To Ban Very Thin Fashion Runway Models

Being very skinny is the norm of the runway. However, this will be about to change in France, the fashion capital of the world, as the country's government is reported to likely pass a bill regulating a 'standard' weight among models. The law is also said to sanction fashion and modelling agencies who will hire very skinny models, Reuters reports.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine told BFM TV on Monday that the government may be supporting two ammendments that regulate models' weights. However, all amendments are still subject to a debate starting March 17 this year.

To uphold this idea, the socialist government of France is said to require models to present a medical certificate showing a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18, about 55 kg (121 lb) for a height of 1.75 meters (5.7 feet). This is one of the primary requirements that he/she should have in applying for a job, Socialist lawmaker Olivier Veran, proponent of the amendments said in an interview.

Further, according to Veran, regular weight checks would be imposed. Modelling agencies who are found out to breach the weight standards will also be fined up to 75,000 euros ($79,000). Punishments may also reach up to being in jail for six months.

"It's important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health, especially for young women who look to the models as an aesthetic ideal," Health Minister Marisol Touraine said in an interview.

The amendments regulating the standard weight among models in France came years after French fashion model Isabelle Caro initiated an anti-anorexia campaign and talking about eating disorders among models way back 2007. She engaged herself in a photo shoot exposing her sickly-looking figure, Time said.

Caro died at 28 because of the eating disorder.

According to E! Online, using super-skinny models in runways are found to affect the idea of body image among girls and young women as reported by a 2012 research from the London School of Economics.

And the banning of very thin models may lower the cases of dysmorphia.

Meanwhile, France' move to impose standard weight among runway models is similar to what other countries like Italy, Spain and Israel who had started upholding a healthier look among models since 2013.