The hype surrounding eating disorders has been increased following last year's controversy in the fashion world for its use of size zero models on the catwalks, and now the French government are stepping in to take action against what is a growing issue among young women in Europe.

Extreme Diets Outlawed
Last month, the French lower house of parliament approved a bill to outlaw mass communication that gives readers information and tips on how to successfully become anorexic or bulimic. Around 400 sites that extol the virtues of extreme weight loss and disordered eating have sprung up in France. If the bill is passed in the Senate, anyone found publishing on the subject could face 3 years imprisonment or fines of up to 45,000 euros.

Frances' law, sponsored by law-maker Valerie Boyer and the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, wants to target the influence that the media can have on young women. Boyer said, "We have noticed that the sociocultural and media environment seems to favor the emergence of troubled nutritional behavior, and that is why I think it necessary to act."

Fashion Industry to Blame
Last year's revelation that Allegra Versace, daughter of Donatella, suffers from anorexia, gave a high-profile boost to an already spiralling problem within Europe. Anorexia affects 1-2% of teenagers and university students, most of those young, impressionable women, and it is said to partly arise from the mass-media culture of today's world, which prides itself on showcasing stick-thin models as socially acceptable. Nathalie Rykiel, the daughter of designer Sonia, says that ordinary women follow the shapes of women used in their shows, " Fashion must be excessive. The woman who parades on the catwalk is the artistic vision of the creator. Women of the street who follow fashion adapt it to their own bodies."

Bimbo Generation
One US site that has been courting controversy in the international press lately has been missbimbo.com. The website game that has invoked the wrath of many parents allows users to create their own character, buy her clothes, take her clubbing and make her the "hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the whole world". Controversially, the site also includes a plastic surgery clinic where users, who are mostly between the ages of 9 and 16, can buy breast augmentations and other virtual nip/tuck procedures.

Considering the obvious effect that this site and others could have on adolescents and young women, it seems foolish to hear scepticism, such as that from Michael Levine, a psychology professor at Kenyon College in the United States. He commented "Ultimately, I think it's a mistake to ban them because I think that you're going to be hard pressed to demonstrate in a very clear way that these sites have a direct negative affect.."