SACRAMENTO — California would ban anorexic models under a bill introduced Monday in the state Legislature.

Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, said AB2539 is an effort to reduce the number of eating disorders among models by creating industry health standards and requiring modeling agencies to be licensed by the California Labor Commissioner. Under the legislation, models would need a physician’s certificate attesting that they don’t suffer from an eating disorder, which agencies would be required to keep on file or face a fine.

“This is a societal problem as unhealthy models have become role models for young people,” Levine said in a statement. “As California often leads the nation and the world, this bill will help assure that our children will see healthy images on magazines and fashion websites.”

Last year, France approved a law that bans excessively thin models by requiring they meet a certain body mass index. Italy, Israel and Spain have also passed similar legislation, Levine’s office pointed out. AB2539 would not necessarily require models meet a certain body mass, instead allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and Department of Public Health to work with medical experts to create health standards for models.

The legislation has the support of former fashion model Nikki DuBose, who said AB2539 is long over-due. AB2539 is likely to face criticism from those who feel it is government over-reach and an invasion of privacy.

“Eating disorders run rampant in the fashion industry in great part because models do not have support, protection, and proper access to health care,” DuBose said in a statement.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez