Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify underweight, overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m2). For example, an adult who weighs 70kg and whose height is 1.75m will have a BMI of 22.9.

Thylane Loubry Blondeau, a 10-year-old model with a sultry stare beyond her years, had the fashion industry drooling after posing for French Vogue. But photos of the Parisian preteen, whose lanky body and gap-toothed pout bring to mind full-grown size-zero magazine cover girls, have reignited the debate over the sexualization of young girls.

OXFORD -- I confess: I do it, too. Like most Western women, I do it regularly, and it is a guilty pleasure every time. It is hard to listen to one's conscience when one is faced with so much incredible temptation. I am talking, of course, about cheap trendy fashion.

But for once it seems that fur-loving fashion houses are pursuing a trend rather than setting it. Worldwide fur sales in 2010 show that there was 5.4% increase on the previous year.

Buyers from leading U.S. department stores began sifting through the work of hundreds of designers as another Fashion Week started Tuesday in New York, seeking the looks that shoppers will want to wear next spring. Seema Anand will be looking for the ones they want right now.

Opposing Viewpoints

Opposing Viewpoints

PARIS - The death of a 21-year-old Brazilian model from complications of anorexia has reignited debate about the fashion industry and eating disorders at a time when various cities around the world are considering banning the ultrathin from the catwalk.

GENEVA - Models wearing alpaca fiber, bamboo and organic silk and cotton strutted down an "Eco-chic" catwalk to back a United Nations call for the sustainable use of natural resources.

The 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire marks the historic event that fostered the drive for employee rights in the US. On-the-job mortality was a normal hazard faced by workers at the turn of last century. Charles F. Murphy, Tammany Hall boss, took note that workers comprised a sizeable voting populace, evidenced by the size of their strikes, and shifted his political strategy away from supporting management. After 146 people died in the Shirtwaist fire, Murphy launched the Factory Investigating Commission and, based on their findings, passed workplace reforms that were the most progressive in the US at that time.