France Health Ministry said that it will not ban skinny models from Paris to catwalk but will announce a voluntary document to make the fashion industry think of the health risks of being very thin.
Designers, model agencies and others involved in the fashion industry have been actively recruited for promoting of an exhausted look which critics say leads to eating disorders in young girls.
Some countries, for instance, Spain, Italy, Brazil and India have taken underweight models off their podiums because of concerns, which drew wide media attention after the deaths of two anorexic Latin American models in 2006.
In France fashion is a huge business. Luxury goods that are often advertised by young thin models which can be seen in posters and on podiums, account for a large export.
French fashion federation head said in January that Paris would not take additional measures to officially forbid very thin models appear in podiums as rules on their food were strict enough. However, concern remains.
The Paris city council voted some weeks ago to influence fashion show organizers to stop using thin girls but the Health Ministry said it was declarative step and it could not force the whole industry to change its habits.