Smash hit

It would probably be left to judges to define “excessive thinness” but this might be defined as a body mass index, she said. BMI rules have been set by some model agencies since 2006 when the Madrid fashion show imposed a minimum index of 18 for cat-walk models. This translates as a minimum weight of 56 kilos (8.8 stone) for a height of 1.75 metres (5ft 9in).

France banned last year a controversial Nolita advertisement featuring Isabelle Caro, a French model-actress who has written a book on her continuing battle with the disease.

The French voluntary code, which was drawn up by a panel headed by two eminent psychiatrists, commits the fashion, media and advertising world to raising acceptance of varied body shapes. “We undertake the promotion of diversity in the representation of the body, avoiding all stereotypes which could favour potentially dangerous canons of beauty,” the signatories said.

Marcel Rufo, a celebrity child psychiatrist who headed the code panel, said that he fully backed the use of the criminal law in fighting anorexia. The disease remains a mystery but everything had to be done to prevent vulnerable girls being encouraged to starve, he said. Among other new rules, magazines should be forced to mention that 60 per cent of their pictures are electronically retouched, he said.

The body beautiful: Measuring your BMI

— Body mass index (BMI) is a tool used to see if an adult is at a healthy weight. It works by taking into account height as well as weight

— To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres, then divide the result by your height in metres a second time

— A BMI of less than 18.5 indicates you are underweight, 18.5 to 25 is healthy and anything over 25 means you should consider losing weight

— People with a BMI greater than 40 are at serious risk of heart disease and diabetes

— A value of less than 17.5 is generally used to indicate that a patient may have anorexia, and 15 is starvation level

— The method cannot be used accurately for children and for people over the age of 60 – whose bones weigh less. It may also be inaccurate for athletes, body-builders and breastfeeding mothers

Sources: NHS direct; mybodymassindex.com

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