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But one country is trying to change this.

Organizers of Madrid fashion week, a venue for the latest fashion trends in Spain, recently banned models from the runway with a body mass index of less than 18.

Fashion centers in London and Paris have refused to implement such a restriction in their own venues, but other countries, including Israel and India, have supported the ban.

One possible advantage to Spain’s movement is a healthier image and weight of runway models, coming at a time when college students are dealing with body image issues.

Nearly 20 percent of the 1,002 college students recently polled said they had suffered from an eating disorder at some point, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Fifty-seven percent of those students believed that the cultural pressures to be thin were one of the causes of eating disorders.

The ban is controversial, especially for those models that are naturally thin and would be banned based on their low BMI or weight.

“I think it’s not fair that people who can be naturally thin are getting attacked for it,” said Rachel Zoe, a superstylist for Hollywood stars, in People magazine.

Leslie Mortimer, a senior from Rigby, Idaho, believes that the ban should also focus on other factors.

“Maybe they should go with natural beauty instead of how much someone weighs. There are many bigger women out there who are naturally beautiful,” Mortimer said.

Other students feel that the ban is a step in the right direction because it may project a positive, more wholesome image of fashion models.

“I think it’s important that they kind of put their foot down in Spain and said, ‘It’s not healthy and it’s not beautiful [to look so thin],’” said Courtney Darchuck, a junior from Fresno, Calif. “However, I think it’s logical to say that’s not going to change what’s going on in the United States or other countries.”

One writer hopes that the ban will change beliefs and patterns in the United States.

Audrey Brashich, a former teen model and author of All Made Up: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty, has written about the effect the media has on women and about her experiences modeling and writing for teen magazines.

“The modeling that I did really got me thinking about which qualities are valued in girls and women, and why women who look good are more recognizable and better rewarded than women who do good,” Brashich said.

Brashich said she feels that fashion models have become so thin because thinness is difficult to attain and therefore makes them exclusive.

Brashich has mixed feelings about the Madrid fashion week ban, because some people are naturally thin and distinguishing between the two types is not easy.

“I think [the ban] shows great awareness of how images in the media and culture affect all of us… And I think it would be really an interesting twist on things if Madrid’s actions started such a trend that other countries and fashion entities were ‘shamed’ into following suit,” Brashich said.