MPs vote to ban too-skinny models

FRENCH lawmakers have approved plans to ban super-skinny models from fashion parades, as part of a raft of new measures aimed at promoting good health.

The measure - part of a wide-ranging health bill going through parliament at the moment - will impose a minimum body mass index (BMI) for catwalk models.

France's health authority, the Haute Autorité de la Santé, will define what counts as too skinny.

The proposal was put forward by Socialist MP Olivier Véran and has the backing of health minister Marisol Touraine.

Modelling agents caught breaking the rules could be fined up to €75,000 or jailed for up to six months.

Similar measures are said to already be in place in Spain, Italy and Israel.

The National Assembly has also approved an amendment to the health law that would force publishers and advertisers to put a note highlighting when a photo of a model has been airbrushed.