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Fashion giant Zara has been told to take down two ads in the United Kingdom after a government regulator raised concerns about the health appearance of the models featured.

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the models appeared "unhealthily thin" and ruled that the ads were not prepared with enough care for how they might affect viewers, BBC News said.

The decision came after a member of the public flagged four Zara ads for review. The ASA investigated all four but took action against two of them, both found on Zara's UK website and app.

One ad showed a short, off-white dress, while the other featured an oversized white shirt.

In both cases, the ASA pointed out that the way the models were posed—and how the clothes and lighting drew attention to certain parts of their bodies—made them look too thin.

For example, in the shirt ad, the model's low-cut top and pose made her collarbones a noticeable focal point.

In the dress ad, shadows on the model's legs and the angle of her arms gave the impression of an unusually thin figure, the ASA explained.

One model's hair was pulled tightly back, which, according to the ASA, made her face appear "slightly gaunt."

ASA Flags Zara Ads for Irresponsible Imagery

Matthew Wilson, media and public relations manager for the ASA, told USA Today that these ads failed to meet industry standards for responsible advertising, especially when it comes to how models are portrayed.

"The images were not prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society," the ASA said in its report published on August 6.

Zara, which is based in Spain and operates globally—including around 100 stores in the US—told the ASA that the models in question had worked with well-known fashion brands and had valid medical certificates proving they were healthy at the time of the shoot.

The company also said the images were only lightly edited for lighting and color and were not changed to alter the models' appearances.

Despite defending the ads, Zara removed all the flagged images from its UK website, including taking down the entire listing for the oversized shirt.

This incident adds to a growing list of fashion retailers facing scrutiny for using models perceived as too thin. In recent months, both Marks & Spencer and Next had ads pulled by the ASA for similar reasons.