Latest News: 08-12-2006
Pro-Eating Disorder Websites
Pro-eating disorder websites have stirred up controversy. While many websites about eating disorders have been set up with the intent of providing useful information and aiding people with their recovery, others have been described as 'sinister' or 'dangerous'.
These websites have been dubbed 'pro-eating disorder' websites, or 'pro-ana' (pro-anorexia) and 'pro-mia' (pro-bulimia) sites. Most are aimed at people who already have eating disorders, rather than those who don't i.e. they are not trying to encourage people to 'take up' an eating disorder.
Website visitors are often greeted by images of slim, thin or even skeletal women, their purpose being to inspire people to lose weight (this is called thinspiration).
Chat rooms and forums exist where people swap tips on how to lose weight, binge and purge, minimise food intake and control hunger urges. Many visitors are teenagers and some even younger.
A number of pro-eating disorder websites have warning notices advising viewers they should be 18 or over before entering them.
It is debated among eating disorder treatment specialists whether these websites can actually cause eating disorders, but it is widely believed they exacerbate eating disorders in people who already have them or who have a predisposition to developing an eating disorder.
They may also contain information that triggers anorexic and bulimic behaviours in people who are in recovery from eating disorders.
Pro-eating disorder websites usually have a 'communal atmosphere' where eating disorder sufferers can get support from each other. This may take the form of encouraging each other to make choices that are harmful to their health (with potentially fatal consequences) or to seek treatment and get well.
Aside from this, such websites can vary considerably. Some claim eating disorders are a lifestyle choice, while others say it is not a choice. Many sites actually provide significant information about the dangers of eating disorders and actively try to help people who want to recover, while others have been known to ridicule those who ask for help.
Despite the controversy surrounding pro-eating disorder websites, many are very popular. Perhaps this is a sign of society's lack of understanding and support for these types of illnesses. People often visit such websites for comfort because they have nowhere else to turn.
While it is a good thing for eating disorder sufferers to have somewhere they can go and know they will not be judged, there is a danger they will feel that it is 'OK' to have an eating disorder if they regularly visit websites where their illness is accepted. This may discourage them from seeking help to get better.
It appears pro-eating disorder websites offer support because there is a demand for it among people who have eating disorders…but is it the right kind of support?