Models under the age of 16 will be banned from London's Fashion Week. In addition, all models may soon have to show a health certificate before they are allowed to walk down the catwalk. These are the decisions of the Model Health Inquiry that was set up in March by the British Fashion Council to ensure models eat healthily. One major concern was how skinny models have become. Super-thin is in and experts fear that models are risking their health due to a variety of eating disorders. An unwanted side effect is that teenagers and young women in their twenties and thirties copy the looks and shape of size-zero models and put their health at risk. The inquiry is in response to the deaths of two Uruguayan models Luisel Ramos, 22, and her sister, Eliana, 18, who died last year because of poor diets.
The Model Health Inquiry did not recommend barring models based on their body mass index (BMI). It said that the BMI - the ratio of weight to height - was "not an accurate method of determining health". The inquiry said models could easily make themselves vomit to try and beat the tests and get on the catwalk. Other countries have barred models with a BMI of less than 18. The World Health Organization says a BMI of 18.5 is a minimum healthy standard. The report made 14 recommendations, which include random drug tests and a "rigorous scientific study" into the extent of eating disorders within the industry. The report also said that from September 2008, models "should provide a medical certificate attesting their good health from doctors with expertise in recognizing eating disorders."