Academy for Eating Disorders announce guidelines for the fashion industry

The Academy of Eating Disorders (AED), an international organisation for eating disorders professionals, have just released guidelines for the fashion industry regarding health and wellbeing amongst fashion models.

They seem sensible and well thought out guidelines and hopefully will have a positive influence. I just wonder whether they will be applied sensitively by the industry in such a way that models who are suffering from eating problems are encouraged to come forward for treatment. I think, sadly, that it is more likely that they will be in fear of losing their livelihood and will become even more secretive than before. I am also aware that the guidelines will not help those with bulimia nervosa, who may not be underweight, to gain access to supportive treatment. But a good start has been made and hopefully this will encourage further debate.

AED Guidelines for the Fashion Industry (available to download from the AED website.

* Adoption of an age threshold requiring that models be at least 16 years of age so as to reduce the pressure that adolescent girls feel to conform to the ultra-thin standard of female beauty.

* For women and men over the age of 18, adoption of a minimum body mass index threshold of 18.5 kg/m2, (e.g., a female model who is 5' 9" [1.75m] must weigh more than 126 pounds [56.6 kg]) which recognizes that weight below this is considered underweight by the World Health Organization.

* For female and male models between the ages of 16 and 18, adoption of a minimum body mass index for age and sex equivalent to the 10th BMI percentile for age and sex (weight below this is considered underweight by the Centers for Disease Control). For example, applying this criterion to a 16 year old female model, the minimum required body mass index would be 17.4 kg/m2, for a male model 17.7 kg/m2. A 16 year old female model who is 5' 9" [1.75 m] must weigh more than 118 pounds [53.3 kg].

* Adoption of an independent medical certification affirming that students who are aspiring models do not suffer from an eating disorder and/or related medical complications (see below).

* Development of action steps to identify models in need of intervention and appropriate and sensitive procedures for detection and referral.

* Discouragement of all non-healthy weight control behaviors throughout the industry (e.g., self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives, diuretics and diet pills). Increased educational initiatives aimed at student models and professional models, their agents and employers to reduce the multiple health risks of various unhealthy weight control behaviors.

* Provision of educational initiatives aimed at aspiring and working student models, professional models, their agents and employers to raise awareness of the multiple health risks of low weight and restricted nutritional intake. These health risks include irregularity or cessation of menses, bradycardia (low heart rate)/irregular heart beat, electrolyte imbalances, dizziness/fainting spells, sudden cardiac death and long term health complications including osteoporosis, depression, and reproductive complications.

* Increased communication with advertising agencies to encourage the use of age-appropriate, realistic models in ad campaigns and reduction of unrealistic computer enhancement in pre-teen and adolescent advertising campaigns.

* An overall ban of the use of photographic manipulation techniques that artificially slim images of fashion models throughout the entire fashion industry.

* Inclusion of models of varying weights and body types on both the catwalk and in fashion magazines so that these images - and the message that women and men of differing body types can look good in a variety of fashions become part of our collective view of what constitutes beauty.

* Promotion of awareness in students, models, and the general public about advertising industry tactics, such as computer enhancement, used to falsify the appearance and actual size of models used in advertising.

* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorder organizations to develop ethical self-regulatory codes for the fashion industry.

* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorder organizations in widening the availability and affordability of effective eating disorders treatment, which must be made readily available to people in the fashion industry.