The BMI approach may not measure up as a health-indicator for fashion models

It started, as most online movements do, with a selfie. In March, Australian model Stefania Ferrario posted a nearly nude photo of herself to Instagram, her doe-eyed gaze fixed intently on the beholder, hands cupping her breasts and the words “I am a model” scrawled across her taut stomach. Its caption was a call to action, asking retailers to drop the “plus” qualifier from clothing lines and agencies to refer to models of all sizes as just “models.” Pushback against skinniness is common in the fashion industry, a response to top-tier designers and agencies that have established a hierarchy that promotes young, thin models to the top of the talent roster and relegates everyone else with a sizerelated qualifier to the bottom.

Deciding how to evaluate what constitutes a “natural” or healthy size is a whole other issue. Supermodels like Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn populate their social-media profiles with images of vigorous workouts and tales of clean diets, insisting that a size two can be achieved through a healthy lifestyle, not just starvation and cigarettes. And on the “plus size” end of the spectrum (which is, officially, anything above a size 14), U.K.- based model Rosalie Nelson started a petition asking that the United Kingdom follow France’s crackdown on “dangerously underweight” models during London Fashion Week in September. It’s since garnered more than 55,000 signatures and is currently under parliamentary review.

France’s solution was to pass a bill banning the hiring of models whose body mass index (BMI) is lower than 18 (or approximately 121 pounds for a 5-foot-7 model). Any agency employee caught doing so could face up to six months of jail time and a fine of €75,000. Israel, Italy and Spain have also adopted legislation that prevents the hiring of models according to BMI. But the industry is divided about whether tracking BMI, a tool that was invented in the 1800s to measure total body mass based on height and weight, will result in positive change. For the full article click here 

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