Too skinny for the screen

A Knesset committee gave initial approval Monday for a bill that would ban the display of underweight models in Israeli advertising.

If it passes in parliament, the bill approved by the Health Committee would also prohibit ads from abroad if they feature models deemed underweight.

The increased prevalence of eating disorders in Israeli society, particularly among young girls, prompted two lawmakers, Danny Danon of Likud and Rachel Adatto of Kadima, to draft the bill, which intends to discourage the idealization of excessively thin bodies.

The bill also stipulates that ads which feature images visually manipulated to make the models appear thinner must note that fact, and imposes hefty fines for breaking the law.

“This law is another step in the war against eating disorders,” said Adatto, herself a physician. Underweight models, she said, “can no longer serve as role models for innocent youth who adopt and copy the illusion of thinness.”

The bill defines underweight in keeping with the internationally accepted Body Mass Index (BMI) standard, a ratio of weight compared to height. Anyone with a ratio under 18.5 is considered underweight.

According to a 2002 study, between 60   and 80% of Israeli female adolescents are dissatisfied with their weight and figure, though the vast majority of those surveyed were of normal or even low weight.

A report presented to the Knesset in 2002 found that five percent of young Israelis suffered from eating disorders. Of those, 90 percent were girls between the ages of 12 and 20.