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Dangerously thin models will not be banned from catwalks during London Fashion Week, despite an appeal from the British Fashion Council to use "healthy" models.
Last September, Spain introduced rules banning models with a Body Mass Index under 18 appearing on the catwalk in Madrid.
This followed the death of Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos, who died of heart failure after eating nothing for days.
Two months later, the death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston was linked to her battle with anorexia nervosa.
Milan followed Madrid's lead while Paris described it as a "non-issue", but despite pressure from politicians and physicians, ultra-thin models will not be prohibited from appearing during London Fashion Week.
Instead, a taskforce will draw up a voluntary code of practice which will promote the use of models larger than the American size zero (British size four), who are aged 16 or over.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who warned last September of the "bad example" of "girls who dare not put on a single pound in case it is the end of their careers," said that she welcomed the move to promote the use of healthy models.
"Too many teenage girls try to starve themselves into unhealthy thinness, at great risk to their health," she said.
"The fashion industry is hugely powerful in shaping the attitudes of young women and their feelings about themselves. Teenage girls aspire to look like their role models. If their role models are healthy it will help inspire girls to be the same."
The British Fashion Council said: "We believe that regulation is neither desirable nor enforceable. What will make a difference is the commitment of the fashion industry to change attitudes through behaviour and education."
Health experts and members of the fashion industry will join the taskforce to find a workable solution the concerns about the use of ultra-thin models.
Sponsors of London Fashion Week, including Topshop, Superdrug and MAC, have agreed to support the code.
Stuart Rose, chairman of the fashion council and chief executive of Marks and Spencer, said: "I think this code is a step in the right direction. The health of the model is paramount and the image that fashion projects is something that needs to be addressed."
But the decision not to ban "Size Zero" models from the British catwalk will be a disappointment to those who have voiced their concerns over the shrinking sizes of people in the public eye, including medical experts, fashion designers and Hollywood actresses.
Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the Eating Disorders Association, said that although the fashion and celebrity industry does not cause people to have an eating disorder, "it is part of the context".
She said that none of 100 young people with eating disorders recently questioned by the association said they were trying to emulate thin models or celebrities.
"But once they were unwell, it became very hard for them to get better once they were surrounded by these images," Ms Ringwood said.
"It's a mixed message they get, when they are being told they are damaging their bodies and yet see other people being celebrated for it."
Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, who put forward an Early Day Motion signed by 30 MPs that the British fashion industry should follow Madrid in excluding models with a BMI under 18 from the catwalk, said: "This is better than nothing, and a step in the right direction. The industry is just putting their toe in the water, rather than following wonderful example set in Madrid."
Oscar-nominated actress Kate Winslet has said she refused to have any magazines in her house that show skinny celebrities because of the damaging effect it could have on her six-year-old daughter, Mia.
She described the trend as "unbelievably disturbing".
Actress Cameron Diaz, who described herself as "a skinny girl", said the phenomenon was "terrifying, it's tragic and sad", while author JK Rowling has voiced concerns on her website that her two daughters are growing up in "this skinny-obsessed world".
Elizabeth Doyle, whose fashion collection LizzieDoyle is aimed at women of size 14 and over, said: "The average size of a British woman is size 16 - it's ridiculous that our leading fashion showcase still persists in using models which reflect such unachievable and unhealthy images for young women everywhere.
"The British Fashion Council should have followed Madrid and Milan and taken some responsibility about the future of fashion in the UK."
The World Health Organisation uses the Body Mass Index, which is a ratio of height to weight, to calculate the healthy size for an individual.
A BMI under 18.5 is regarded as underweight, while a BMI between a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a healthy weight.
- INDEPENDENT
