Organisers of London Fashion Week, begins at the Natural History Museum in west London on Monday, are under pressure to follow Spain’s example by banning excessively skinny models from the catwalk. Pasarela Cibeles in Madrid, also due to start Monday, slaps a minimum body mass or height-weight ratio of 18 on participants.

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Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell warned that ordinary girls felt under pressure to starve themselves to look like them. The fashion industry is hugely powerful in shaping the attitude of teenage girls and their feelings about themselves. Hence the promotion of beauty as meaning stick-thin is damaging to young girls’ self image and to their health.

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Steve Bloomfield, spokesman for the Eating Disorders Association, told The Guardian a ban would be positive and useful in helping combat growing levels of anorexia and bulimia, possibly through legislation.