A petition calling for a law that will protect models from becoming "dangerously skinny" has gained over 50,000 signatures.
The campaign was created by 23-year-old model Rosie Nelson at the weekend.
Please help me create a healthier standard for models in the UK. Sign my petition to show your support! http://t.co/w3sDlAYF4D
Nelson, from Sandhurst, wants a change in the law making it compulsory for models to get regular health checks.
"I'm hoping to get a law enforced that requires models to have health checks every three to six months, to guarantee models are healthy and happy," she told BuzzFeed News.
"This should apply to all models, but especially to the models at Fashion Week, who are walking for the biggest brands in front of the biggest audience."
Nelson, who is a UK size 8–10, was inspired to start the campaign after a modelling agency said that she needed to lose weight.
"When I went to see one of the biggest agencies last year they told me I ticked all the boxes except one – they wanted me to lose weight," she said. "They wanted me back down to the measurements I had when I started modelling, but in order to achieve that I would have been damaging my body and starving myself. That was when I realised I had to do something about it."
Tory MP Caroline Nokes has launched an inquiry into whether the use of unhealthily thin models should be banned from British catwalks.
Nokes, who is the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on body image, plans to arrange a meeting with several senior members of the fashion industry in November to discuss whether legislation is needed to protect vulnerable models from losing too much weight.
Nokes told BuzzFeed News that society had "turned a blind eye" to the promotion of unnaturally thin body ideals represented in the fashion industry. "What strikes me as a woman, a parent, and finally a parliamentarian is that for too long society has turned a blind eye to the unnaturally thin ideal we see promoted on the catwalk," she said.
French lawmakers have been discussing new laws regarding the health and body mass index (BMI) of models for several months and are due to vote on them in October.
But the British Fashion Council told BuzzFeed News that BMI is an "inaccurate measure" for the health of young women.
"We encourage a focus on looking after models [and] encourage health and wellbeing with healthy food and drink provided backstage at shows," it said.
Nelson, who has worked as a model for over five years, agrees that BMI is an inaccurate tool for measuring health status.
"I think BMI is a very blunt tool for measuring someone's health and fitness," she said. "BMI only takes someone's height and weight into consideration when determining their health status – it doesn't include dietary habits or exercise regimes."
Nonetheless, Nokes says that Britain should be prepared to debate and "think very carefully" about whether to follow the actions of countries such as France and Italy.
"I think firstly we want to heighten awareness, we want to stimulate debate, and in an ideal world the industry would respond to the strength of public opinion," she said.
"However, I think we have to be prepared to look at the actions taken in France and in Italy and think very carefully as to whether the UK should follow suit."