Israel has issued a law prohibiting the photographic use of skinny models on January 1, 2013. However, one still has to find out what the word “skinny” means.
If a girl’s BMI (body mass index) is lower than 18.5, she is forbidden to appear in editorial materials and print media advertising.
This law establishes the rules according to which magazines must warn the reader, if the model’s photo undergoes image retouching to make the girl look slimmer.
However, it should be noted that these requirements are applied to the images made in Israel. The photos introduced from the outside remain unchanged. This means that skinny girls will still be seen in the pages of the Israeli glossy magazines.
It should also be said that Israel has become the first country where a BMI less than 18.5 is officially named unacceptable for models. In other countries, the age of the models is regulated and certain restrictions concerning photo retouching are imposed.
