My TY

It's time to follow Madrid's lead and ban underweight models, writes John Curtinof Presentation Brothers College in Cork

Last September the organisers of Madrid Fashion Week sparked controversy by banning models with a body-mass index of 18 or lower from appearing at the event. I believe they were right.

According to the World Health Organization, anybody with a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 is clinically underweight. Although some models can have lower BMIs than this and still appear healthy - Kate Moss, for example, whose BMI is reportedly 15 or 16 - they should be assessed by medics before each fashion show and should not be allowed to model if their BMI is under 18.5.

In 1950 the average woman weighed 54kg (8.5st) and had a 60cm (24in) waist. Now she weighs more than 64kg (10st) with an 80cm (32in) waist. Yet the women appearing on screen and in fashion spreads are much slimmer than they were 50 years ago. There is a minimum-height requirement, so why can't there be a minimum-weight requirement? As Tim Gunn of the TV programme Project Runway put it: "When the knee joint is wider than the thigh, it can be scary."

Many catwalk models are 16 or 17. How can you justify teenagers of your own age being subjected to hair loss and anaemia by dieting? Anorexia and bulimia are rife among models, as they feel it's the only way to maintain their thin physiques. Women with low BMIs have a greater risk of developing osteoporosis, which is worrying news for models as they age: 15-20 per cent of hip-fracture patients aged 65 and over die within a year as a result of complications.

Worse still is the knock-on effect on the public. The use of thin models sets unrealistic standards of beauty that encourage young people to crash-diet at the expense of their health.

Children as young as seven are worried about being fat. Something has to be done - and done soon.

Many of these models come from poor countries, and when they are offered the chance of a lifetime they can't refuse. Ana Carolina Reston Macan was a Brazilian model born into poverty who, at 18, made her first overseas trip, to Hong Kong. At a casting call there she was told she was too fat, a criticism that apparently led to her decline into anorexia. She died two years later with a BMI of only 13.4 and weighing only 40kg (6st 4lb). She had been hospitalised because of a kidney malfunction brought on by anorexia - and by her reported diet of only tomatoes and apples.

We can all make a difference. If you decide that skinny is not in, and don't buy magazines portraying clinically underweight models, then the fashion industry will have to change its ways. Let's put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable young girls by money-oriented designers and modelling agencies.