No underweight models in ads, rules Israel

A new Israeli law bans showing overly thin models from local acdvertising in an attempt to fight the spread of eating disorders. It also requires publications to disclose when they use altered images of models to make the women and men appear even thinner than they really are.

The law, passed late Monday, appears to be the first attempt by a government to use legislation to take on a fashion industry accused of abetting eating disorders by idealising extreme thinness. It could become an example for other countries grappling with the spread of anorexia and bulimia, particularly among young women.

The law’s supporters said they hoped it would encourage the use of healthy models in local advertising and heighten awareness of digital tricks that transform already thin women into illusory waifs.

“We want to break the illusion that the model we see is real,” said Liad Gil-Har, assistant to law sponsor Dr Rachel Adato, who compares the battle against eating disorders to the struggle against smoking.