Europe 's controversial new laws banning ultra-thin models from strutting down the catwalk may be doing more harm than good as models are reportedly going to extreme measures to ensure they clock in at a 'healthy ' weight when they hop on the scale - including stuffing their underwear with sandbags . Earlier this month France passed a new law that bars models from walking the runway if their body mass index is deemed too low , in an attempt to combat anorexia . And the pressure is on for agencies who can face a fines of up to $ 80,000 and six months in prison for employing too-thin models . But former model Jennifer Sky , 38 , from Brooklyn , New York , has revealed in an op-ed for the New York Observer that the fashion industry has already found a way around the regulations , explaining that thin models are now resorting to wearing weighted Spanx in order to cheat the new BMI standards . New kind of pressure : Former model Jennifer Sky , pictured in 2013 ( R ) and 2003 ( L ) , has reported that models are being asked to wear Spanx underwear stuffed with sandbags , so they can clock in at a 'healthy ' weight . Different rules : Models can be seen walking down the runway at the Masha Ma show in March at Paris Fashion Week . France recently passed a law banning models from the catwalk if their body mass index is too low . An anonymous model , referred to in the piece as 'Lauren ' , told Jennifer that she participated in Spanish Fashion Week , sometime after the country passed its new weight law in 2006 and recalled being asked to hide weights in her undergarments . 'They gave us Spanx underwear to stuff with weighted sandbags so the thinnest of girls had a `` healthy '' weight on the scales , ' Lauren said . ' I even saw them put weights in their hair . ' Jennifer went on to say that she hopes the US does not try to pass this 'discriminatory and misguided ' because of its negative affect on naturally thin women . She noted that when she was a teenager she too would have been deemed underweight because BMI calculations , which are based on weight and height , do n't take age , sex or genetic body shape into account . 'At 16 , when I was working as a fashion model , I weighed 115 pounds and was 5 ’ 7 ” 1/2 , ' she wrote . ' I exercised regularly and really loved to eat Subway veggie sandwiches and drink McDonald ’ s vanilla milkshakes . ' Major changes : Models can be seen strutting down the catwalk during the YDE show at Paris Fashion Week in March . Agencies who employ 'too-thin ' models face large fines and even jail time under the new French law . She continued : ' I was not anorexic or starving - I was definitely over-worked . I was simply a naturally thin teenager with a powerful teenage metabolic system . ' Jennifer noted that as a teen with a BMI of 18.0 , she would most certainly have been considered 'underweight ' ; while the exact BMI requirements for models working in France have not been released , the World Health Organization considers people with a BMI below 18.5 to be underweight and at risk of being malnourished . And while Jennifer says that , 22 years later her current measurements finally put her at a 'normal ' 21.0 , her BMI for most of her modeling career would have been deemed too dangerous for her to work under the new laws . While the model rights activist applauded the French government for attempting to protect the health of 'these young working professionals ' , she and Lauren both agreed that outlawing skinny altogether is not the answer . ' I think a better solution is to raise the age limit for models to 18 , ' Lauren told Jennifer . 'Many ultra-thin models are simply still going through puberty , and allowing their bodies to form before their career would be beneficial to all . ' Model rights activist : Jennifer spoke with Megan Alexander ( R ) about trafficking , abuse , and child labor problems within the fashion industry on Inside Edition in February . Strict rules : The 38-year-old , who snapped this 'Post Fashion Week ' selfie in February , noted her BMI would have been considered too low when she was a healthy 16-year-old model because she had a fast metabolism . Jennifer added that instead of putting restrictions on the size of young models , the French government should 'look to the modeling agencies who freely act as employment agencies without the responsibilities of treating their client-models as working professionals ' . Because models are considered independent contractors in the US , standard employment laws , which allow workers mandatory breaks , compensation for injuries and protection from sexual harassment , do not apply . Sara Ziff , who is a model and founder of The Model Alliance organization , told Think Progress in March that she is also against the new French law because legislating body mass standards is not the same thing as the fashion industry promoting a 'healthy ideal ' . 'BMI suggests there are distinct categories of underweight , ideal , overweight and obese , with sharp boundaries that hinge on a decimal place , which is simply not true , ' she explained . 'It is unfair and unreasonable to ban healthy models from working just because they have a relatively low BMI . '
Former model Jennifer Sky , 38 , claims that models are being asked to stuff their underwear with sandbags so they can clock in at a 'healthy ' weight . The activist says she is against France 's new law , which bars models from walking the runway if their body mass index is deemed too low .