The Associated Press
JERUSALEM - When Margaux Stelman began modeling a few months ago, she always had her sister Simone in mind.
Simone was an ex-model who died three years ago after a long battle with anorexia, a common affliction of models trying to look thinner and thinner.
Now, thanks to a new Israeli law that prohibits the employment of underweight fashion models, Stelman says she feels protected from the traditional pressures of an industry notorious for encouraging extremes in thinness.
The law sets weight minimums with the aim of discouraging anorexia and bulimia, eating disorders that affect mostly young women.
"This disease is something that's very close to me," the 21-year-old university student from Belgium said at a recent photo shoot, the country's first since the law took effect last week. "Doing the exact opposite, showing girls that (they) can be healthy and be a model anyway, it's really something I want to show."
People are also reading…
The Israeli law, passed by parliament last year, is the first of its kind. The U.S. and England have guidelines, but their fashion industries are self-regulated.
Israel, like other countries, is obsessed by models. International supermodel Bar Refaeli is considered a national hero. Refaeli, an Israeli who has graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, among others, is not unnaturally thin.
The new law requires models to produce a medical report no older than three months at every shoot for the Israeli market, stating that they are not malnourished by World Health Organization standards. The U.N. agency relies on the body mass index, calculated by factors of weight and height. WHO says a body mass index below 18.5 indicates malnutrition. According to that standard, a woman 5 feet 8 inches tall should weigh no less than 119 pounds.
Critics say the body mass index is flawed and cannot be applied equally to everyone. For example, many professional athletes fall outside the health boundaries set by the scale, because of their height or muscle mass.
Stelman is 5 feet 7 inches and says she weighs around 132 pounds.
"I never weigh myself. I don't care. I don't even have a scale," she said. "Weight is just a number. As long as I feel good and healthy - that's all that matters."
