what do I think of the decision made in Madrid? I think it is a long time coming, but I have this sadness that this kind of thinking didn't start earlier. In March, 2003, my 22 year old daughter, Heather, died from complications of anorexia & ipecac abuse---she was 5'4", and 62 pounds when she died. Heather was what you would call a "slave" to fashion---always looking at the latest magazine or watching "the style channel"--she associated the waife thin models with beauty and success, and strived to be like them---and this obscession took her life. I tried to get my daughter to realize that beauty comes from wihtin, but the glamour of the catwalk was overwhelming to her.

I would worry more about the amount of people that are overweight in America, including the children. They are at more risk for heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes, etc. Much more people die of these diseases than anorexia.

While I believe there is a line drawn as to being too skinnhy but what about the opposite? Look around, todays children are obese and their parents aren't doing anything about. The parents are fat and unhealthy as well.

Hmmmmm fat or skinny. Which is actually more unhealthy?

I have to say, like the others, I have been skinny all my life. I have weighed in 100-110 pounds and I am 5'8. I have had 2 children (which I gained healthy weight with 40-50 pounds, and I am back down to 110...with no work at all. I have eaten like a HORSE my entire life, and love to eat. I feel for those who can't eat what they like, because of gaining weight. I have been accused of having an eating disorder, but I have never had problems with that! In my younger years I tried and wanted to gain weight as well...and still would like about 15 pounds in my legs. It's not fair to assume all really skinny people are sickly...it's just not! They should come out with some mandatory blood screens to insure models are properly nourished and so forth. That should be the criteria for modeling. Some women are built for it, and others aren't! The women that aren't shouldn't try and make themselves sick to become it. It is the model's fault, not the industry. Clothes look VERY sexy on thin women..that is just the facts.

To change the mentallity of modeling can be compared to Pres. Busch changing the mentallity of East Asia. No one has been told skinny is bad, as no one has been told east indian mentality is violent.

the reader, Liz's comments:"Those overweight people need to learn that their disgusting FAT" , Liz , you are ridiculous. Heavy people have been taunted, hurt and abused by people like you their entire lives. It's the skinny ones who have been left in bliss. I think you need to grow up a bit more before you make such childish comments.
Stop and read a bit, and think before lashing out. I bet you believe Steroids are OK because it makes people look muscular, and I would guess you wear all the latest fashion labels. Stop, take a breath and think about others for a chance. try giving your allowance to a charity instead of spending it in the Mall next time. Try and make a difference on the positive side of life, before hurting and being nasty to theheavy kid that is already an outcast by people like you.

Being too skinny is one thing, but Americans should not be encouraged to believe that obesity is beautiful or healthy.
I sympathize with great saddness regarding anorexia & bulimia, but also with the ever increasing hazard of obesity which leads to many health problems; diabeties,etc.
I see alot of overweight youngsters here in USA. I return from overseas and the first thing I observe are overweight people(not just a little bit overweight, thats okay) In my era my model idol
was Twiggy & I got my weight way down, but was lucky to have not beome anorexic. Twiggy looks pretty good today. I have gained a few pounds over the years & can't imaging being so thin as I was back then. And I thought I was overweight back then!!! Horrors! We need good role models for somewhere in between real skinny & way too fat, like Cindy Crawford,Kate Winslet, etc. In my humble opinion, Paris Hilton looks naturally thin whereas some ot the other celeberties mentioned do look anorexic. Eat green veggies, fruit, chicken & fist, & get on that treadmill.

I was underweight my whole childhood and into my teenage years. I thought I was fat and made myself throw up all the time. I had some serious eating issues. Now I am 29 and have 2 beautiful children. I am actually overweight now. I am happier being overwieght(and very healthy) than when I was skinny. If you are just naturally skinny, then that's ok. But women who starve theirselves to what society conciders "perfection" is very sad. Some of these models have a greyish tone and sunken in eyes. That is sickly. Those are the models who need medical help. Women need to realize that beauty is NOT fat or skinny, but healthy and happy. Instead of banning these models...why not get them help from a doctor or nutritionist? They should also get some counceling for their eating and self-esteem issues. Try not to critisize them. help them. Isn't that the American way? We help people from other countries who are starving, but what about the people right in front of our eyes? You all have a nice day. May God bless all of you and keep you healthy!

I think this is good that they are finally seeing the light,I puts a lot of pressure on woman when they see this in the media and magazines like they are supposed to look like that, and really the majority of woman are curvy, I used to do modeling and it puts a lot of pressure on young girls to fit the image, and they are not happy. In my case, I was naturally skinny, and I ate a lot but as i got older i got more curvy, and I stopped modeling.I know there are some girls that are just naturally skinny, but when they get older they will get a little more curvy, and the modeling agencies need to accept that and stop pushing them to stay thin, because it is really unheathly. I really like the image of woman in the 40's and 50's more curvy, and toned(like the body of a dancer or athletic) I think that look is more appealing.

Hi my name is william, For all those girls out there that think its Hot to be a size zero, let me let you in on a little secret from the guyz WE DONT THINK ITS HOT! We think its disgusting and especially when ur ribs hang out.As for spain i agree, models should look hot not like skeletons.

models are supposed to be thin. no one wants to see a model with rolls bulging out of the clothes. if people want bigger models, they look at plus sized ones. the pressure to be thin is ALWAYS going to be there. it's usually just a given that models will always be thinner because they need to be for their job. if they didnt want the pressure, they wouldnt be in the business. i have an eating disorder, and i don't feel its because models are too thin. society is always idealizng thinness in more ways than just the modeling industry. changing the modeling industry is only going to encourage models to be healthier. but if a girl has an eating disorder, simply telling her she needs to gain weight or she can't model in the next show, won't make her better. similarly, all other people with eating disorders aren't going to just get better because models are no longer frail looking. that's just not realistic.

There are females that are naturally thin and I am one of them; I also pursued modeling when I was younger. Body fat is what is important, NOT body weight. And the BMI charts are NOT accurate, on a specialized scale I have 24% body fat but according to the chart I'd be at 17% or less.I have always ate a lot and was thin it's MY natural state,only within the past few years started eating healthier and avoiding fast food etc. because I found out I had food sensitivities that were causing bloating etc. I am 37 years old now, look about 22 and am 5'7" and still naturally maintain (don't restrict any eating) a healthy (FOR ME)weight 110-115. Currently I'm 115 not on the medical diet anymore and I exercise here and there, eat mostly what I want just avoiding foods that bother me. And one would think that because I am technically "underweight" I'd be skinny and bony but I'm not. I have rolls of stomach fat and flabby thighs that touch and if I wanted to model now, I'd need to get down to 107 lbs. any more than that and I'd look distractingly fat BECAUSE I don't have a lot of muscle mass right now from lack of exercise and weight training...I am underweight yet overfat. The SMART thing for me and other models to do is to get in the gym and weight train and do some mild cardio for heart health (just because your thin doesn't mean you are "in shape"), yoga (which I do) and eat 6 meals a day, lots of protein, healthy fats (olive oil) and vegies. Then they would have healthy curves from muscle tone which is SEXY enough body fat to have small breasts instead of nonexistant ones, curved hips, sculpted arms instead of rails and these models would inspire instead of disgust us. Unfortunately in pictures, no one wants to look at rolls of fat and flabby anything, in person, we all seem to be more forgiving. The public wants the illusion, the fantasy but the reality is another thing all together.

I modeled for several years for top designers such a versace, D&G, Chole, Chanel and several others. This article is interesting because they want to change a standard that has been around for over 10 years. Unfortunately, designers demand a certain type and models rise to the challenge. It is not something that is going to change overnight. I personally am 5'11" and I weigh 115 pounds. I have been this way for the last 6 years and do not feel as if I am "wasting away"

BRAVO SPAIN!!! It is about time someone in the fashion industry and Hollywood had the courage to take a stand on this pathetic state of affairs Twiggy began. It is deplorable that recent generations of beautiful women have been forced into concentration camp, drug waif thinness. Not to mention all the tucking, sucking and stuffing the plastic industry is getting rich promoting. I lost a dear friend 20 years ago to anorexia. My sister-in-law died of ovarian cancer in ‘97. Just to tell you how absolutely sick our society has become ~ one day on the way to her chemo treatment, I asked her this question (she was rail thin due to the chemo): “If I could wave a magic wand and make you cancer free, very healthy again and live to the ripe old age of 100 feeling fabulous ~ with one catch ~ you would weigh 250 #’s or you could stay waif, model, skinny and die in 6 months of cancer, which one would you choose?” She actually had to think about it for a few minutes and then told me she would choose to be skinny. Well, she got her wish and within a year we lost her. She looked fantastic in her coffin. This really hit me hard and I truly realized how reprehensible, shameful and appalling Hollywood and the fashion industry has become. Also, I think the “fashion designers” should learn how to become “real” designers!! Anything looks good on a wire hanger for Heaven’s sake. Why don’t they have the courage and ability to design for “real” women. Also, thanks to their warping the minds of young women, we are raising generations of the fattest, self- disparaging and deprecating women in history. COME ON LADIES LET’S BACK SPAIN AND THEIR COURAGE TO TAKE A STAND!! WE SHOULD BE THRILLED WITH OUR INNER SELF AND GOD GIVEN BODIES, NOT SO OBSESSED WITH SOME CONTRIVED OUTER APPEARANCE.

who wants to look at a bone yuck put some meat on

BMI's of 18.5 and below are dangerous for several reasons: Thinner than that, women do not make enough estrogen to support menstruation, leaving them sterile, aprey to cardiac conditions that usually only are a problem for post menopausal women, and possibly increased risk for severe strokes which are usually held in check by the presence of estrogen in the brain. BMI's of greater than 25 are at risk for increased risk of female cancers, metabolic syndroms (type 2 diabetes) and the problems that occur with it. So, the take home message is: Keep your weight moderate. Eat mostly vegetables and fruits, lean meats, low fat dairy products and whole grains. Everything in moderation!

It's been said before and I will say it again...You can never be too rich or too thin.

I think it is terrible the message we send our young people thses days that your only good at being successul, beautiful, and have it all if your thin. Being healthy is one thing but promoting the extreme is another. All of us are not size 0 or even a 10. That doesn't mean that we are not worthy of anything less. Our American culture is too "obessed" and hollywood and the media for that matter promotes it. When you stop to think about it we are always being told what is "in" or who we should like or be like. Maybe the next extreme they'll come up with is just have us shed our skin suck out all the fat and muscle and become skeletons maybe then it will be the "ultimate" idealism for thin!

The modeling industy has always been exclusive against over weight individuals because they are considered unattractive and unhealthy, which is not always the case. If you are too skinny naturally (just as some are too heavy naturally) you do not accurately represent the public and therefore should not be models. Models should be within the average healthy weight range. If you do not fit in than you should find another talent. Not everyone is suited for modeling, myself included, and I am ok with that.

Having battled a weight problem all of my life, I am stunned by people's opposition to the fashion industry in Madrid banning exceptionally thin models. Welcome to the world of discrimination. It happens everywhere....short, fat, tall, skinny, black, hispanic, white. I find myself carefully monitoring what my girls (7 & 12) eat because I want them to be healthy. From the time they were toddlers, they looked at their Barbie dolls and thought they had to look like that. We exemplify all the wrong things. What about choosing people because they have a good heart and do the righ things regardless of their build or body type? I don't want them to be looked at by the cruel world as too thin or too fat. What needs to change is not how the fahion industry standards are set and how models are selected for employment.....what needs to change is our outlook on humanity and the acceptance that we are all members of the same race....the human race and appreciate that as the greatest gift.