Spain sizes up women to fight anorexia

MADRID, Apr 22: Spain is to measure its women to establish their real sizes and shapes, as part of a campaign to stop advertising images of ultra-thin models blamed for eating disorders like anorexia.

Spain's government hopes to show most women do not fit the fashion industry's skinny ideal and to persuade leading retail brands to display bigger sizes in shop windows and magazines.

''This ideal is impossible for most people to achieve and can end up hurting people's health,'' Health Minister Elena Salgado said in a statement this week at the launch of the study.

More than one million Spaniards either suffer or are at high risk of developing so-called slimming disorders such as anorexia and bulemia, according to some estimates.

The incidence of anorexia, where victims starve themselves, is estimated to be increasing by 15 per cent a year in Spain.

Salgado this week met Spanish fashion and retail industry bosses to form a working group on the sizing and advertising issue. Spanish girls and women in different age groups will be measured to find their average sizes, weight and height.

The government also aims to create standard, industry-wide sizes to end headaches for consumers seeking the correct fit across a range of brands.

Rather than create laws on displays and sizing, the government hopes to encourage self-regulation by the fashion industry, the ministry said.

REUTERS