The legislation is an effort to change idealized perceptions of beauty that, according to evidence presented to the Knesset, encourages eating disorders such as anorexia.

Haaretz

The Knesset yesterday passed a law banning the use of underweight models in advertising. The so-called “Photoshop law” also requires that any ad agency digitally altering photos to make models look thinner must disclose the fact in the advert.

The legislation is an effort to change idealized perceptions of beauty that, according to evidence presented to the Knesset, encourages eating disorders such as anorexia.

The law also bars the use of overly thin images from foreign advertising here, as defined by the commonly used medical measure of body mass index. Models with an index of 18.5 or less – or who appear to have such a low index – will not be allowed to appear in advertising.

Data from the Knesset’s Research and Information Center presented at legislative hearings revealed that there are about 1,500 children, including teenagers, diagnosed with eating disorders in Israel annually. Evidence presented to the Knesset showed that exposure to idealized media images of bodies is one risk factor in developing an eating disorder, by glorifying the thin body. Read more