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BritishCultureMinisterTessaJowell:BanWaifModels!

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Ned Sonntag

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British Minister Says Ban Scrawny Models

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September 16,2006 | LONDON -- A British Cabinet minister on Saturday called for London Fashion Week to follow its Madrid counterpart and ban extremely thin models from the catwalk.

Fashion Week organizers rejected the call -- but said they were canceling the event's opening photo call to avoid giving the issue more publicity.

Last week Madrid's Fashion Week, the Pasarela Cibeles, announced it was banning models with a Body Mass Index, or height to weight ratio, below 18.

Organizers of the Spanish event said they wanted models to project "an image of beauty and health" and shun a gaunt, emaciated look.



"I applaud the decision taken by Madrid to ban super-thin models, and urge the organizers of London Fashion Week to do the same," British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

The World Health Organization considers people with a BMI below 18.5 underweight. To achieve a BMI of 18, a 5-foot-9 model would have to weigh about 125 pounds. The average runway model at that height is 115 pounds.

The body mass index is a tool for doctors who study obesity. It is calculated by dividing weight in pounds by height in inches squared, and multiplying that total by 703.






If the resulting number is between 18.5 and 24.9, the person's weight is considered normal. Below 18.5 they are underweight.

"The fashion industry's promotion of beauty as meaning stick thin is damaging to young girls' self image and to their health," Jowell said in a statement.

"Young girls aspire to look like the catwalk models -- when those models are unhealthily underweight it pressurizes girls to starve themselves to look the same."

The British Fashion Council, which runs Fashion Week, said in a statement that it "does not comment or interfere in the aesthetic of any designer's show."

"The BFC has canceled the photo call on Sunday because it is unwilling to add any more impetus to the publicity surrounding this complicated issue," it added,

London Fashion Week opens Monday and runs through Friday.
 

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