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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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"

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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FINALLY!! Took us long enough and a lot of sick kids to notice. Yes the camera adds pounds but in this day and age doesn't have to. I am so glad that Madrid is taking a stand and hope the public embraces this and starts moving toward real life size models to walk the catwalks. Tyra took a stand here in the US and sold more underwear than anyone could imagine as you could look at her and say, "Wow, I could wear that", instead of "Well I could wear that if I starved for 6 months."
Bravo Madrid

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Let me ask you all a question. If you were in charge of a national ad campaign, and two women who were perfectly suitable for the job auditioned... who would you pick? The woman who is too thin, or the woman who is too large? Both are health threats... so why is everyone focusing on thin women? Because they are the women who are shoved into the spotlight. Maybe America should take a hint from Spain, except do the opposite, and work on cutting down on our UNACCEPTABLE percantage of obese adults.

I hardly think the miniscule percantage of unhealthy skinny models poses more of a threat than the millions of obese people.

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Holly your breaking my heart here everyone is entiled to their opinion. I saw healthy is healthy but sticks like like nothing and when the wind blows away they go.

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I tyhink that the fashion industry and hollywood need to under go a whole new concept of Life and Health.ultra thin is not healthy and has given our young people that it is alright to be that way. We need to see a healtheir standard for models and stars.fashion desogners need to make clothes that fit the normal person not the ABNORMAL

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Holly, you need to forget the modeling career and focus on the inside. Your spelling and grammar in the short paragraph you wrote is atrocious. You are nearly illiterate. That must be very hard for you to admit. I hope you can focus more on what's important and what has longevity. Modeling is not important to anyone and certainly has no longevity. Everything happens for a reason and maybe you aren't getting modeling jobs so you will pursue something else -- like junior college. Good luck.

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I hardly think that the miniscule number of overly thin models poses a bigger problem than the MILLIONS of obese Americans.

Take a hint a post articles and photos about the obesity epidemic in our country. Maybe this discussion would be a tad bit different then.

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For the people who compare the bodies of thin models to "12 year old boys": You're raging idiots. Why not compare them to 12 year old girls? Or if you want to be more dramatic, why not compare them to 8 year old girls? At least then you'd have the anatomy correct. You're all a bunch of bitter self-serving simpletons with no original thought who regurgitate whatever you hear in the media that supports your personal agenda. And by the way, "real women" come in ALL sizes, including super thin. Just cause you've got more ass than you'd like, don't go bagging on people who don't happen to look like you. Rosie O' Donnell and Nicole Richie are BOTH real women. To attack people who are thin makes you no better than those who attack people who are fat. Of course, you didn't think of that because you've got fart for brains and simply jumped on a bandwagon who thinks for you instead of making the effort to think for yourself. You should be ashamed of yourselves for being such mindless pathetic losers.

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