Slimming Madness

If fat is a feminist issue, skinniness in now officially a political one. The German government has taken a rare step into the breach by criticizing the fashion and advertising sectors for promoting ultra-thin models in their campaigns.

"Skinny models belong neither on the catwalk nor in advertising," Health Minister Ulla Schmidt said in Berlin on Thursday, Dec. 13, adding that that the fashion world had a responsibility to regulate itself in this regard.

Schmidt, accompanied by Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Education Minister Annette Schavan and Austrian Family Minister Andrea Kdolsky, was kicking off a campaign entitled "Life has weight -- together against slimming madness."

Increase in eating disorders prompts response

The government stance comes as data shows an alarming increase in eating disorders, particularly among girls and women in Germany, which some observers have connected with the promotion of the waif-like body ethic in certain sections of the media.

A recent comprehensive survey by Germany's Robert Koch Institute found that around 22 percent of youngsters aged 11 to 17 suffer from some form of eating disorder. In boys, the rate then falls off, while among girls it rises to 30 percent at the age of 17.

Schmidt called the numbers "shocking," while von der Leyen said 90 percent of those affected by the body cult were girls or young women.

"Anorexia is overwhelmingly female and it is very youthful," she said.

Taking a stand for her industry, Alice Schwarzer, founder and publisher of the German feminist magazine Emma, is behind the campaign, which has now received the backing of the politicians.

"Being thin should no longer be seen as chic, rather as a shock," she said.

Media and fashion sectors take a stand

Schwarzer called the skinny body cult a "mass psychosis of the West" and warned that Germany was dragging its heels in the fight against compulsive slimming, with Britain, Italy and Spain well ahead in countering it.

Prominent German fashion designer Jette Joop said it was a "good idea" for the sector to commit itself to self-regulation. Health certificates for models were another possibility, she said.

Schavan said that if the wrong images could have an effect on the behavior of women, then so could more natural images. She appealed for more education and research into the effects.

Von der Leyen also called for the promotion of healthy eating in the home and in child care centers.

"Food is neither a reward, nor a punishment," she said, calling for Web sites promoting incorrect ideals on weight to be closed down by their operators.