Archive for the ‘pro-ana’ tag
Some sites may encourage eating disorders
Without their parents’ knowledge, many adolescents with diagnosed eating disorders are visiting Web sites that encourage anorexia and bulimia, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics last month.
“Parents of pro-eating-disorder Web site users were more likely to know about these sites†– which provide “thinspiration†(images of extremely thin women) and reinforce disordered eating habits – than other parents, said Rebecka Peebles, one of the study’s authors and an instructor in adolescent medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “Still, over half the parents of these pro-eating-disorder Web site users didn’t know their own kids were on these sites.â€

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How visitors arrive to NoThinspiration.com?
Tips for anorexics
I’ve found this tips in a pro ana site. What do you think about it?
1. WATER…I can’t say it enough…WaterWaterWaterWater Water…Any questions?
2. Three words: Crest White Strips. Here’s the deal. You’re supposed to wear these on your upper and lower teeth for 30 minutes each, 2x a day. And you definitely cannot eat while you’ve got these babies on. You can have up to 2 hours a day of literally not being able to eat! If you put them on about 15 minutes before dinner then you can’t eat dinner with your family and they’ll have to let you eat on your own later. It’s perfect!
3. Ride out the hour. When you start to get hungry, just tell yourself that you’ll wait until the end of the hour to eat anything. That way you’ll have time to think about whether or not you really want those calories, and you’ll also feel really powerful since you’ve proved to yourself that you can go for that time without food.
4. Move around. Bounce your feet, wiggle your fingers, every little calorie counts.
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Health: Sites Walk a Thin Line
Dec. 18, 2006 (Newsweek)
If a food craving strikes, try a manicure to “keep your hands occupied.”
This kind of tip is common fare on pro-”ana” (anorexia) and pro-”mia” (bulimia) Web sites. Well intended or not, they’re not “benign,” says Dr. Rebecka Peebles of Stanford University, coauthor of “Surfing for Thinness,” published in Pediatrics last week. Stanford researchers surveyed patients treated for eating disorders, ages 10 to 22, and found that users of pro-eating-disorder sites were sick longer. And 96 percent of them reported learning new tips for weight loss or purging; 69 percent said they used them.
The sites tend to gloss over bad news: people with anorexia are 56 times more likely than their peers to commit suicide. (And they’re not broadcasting the November anorexia-related death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston.)
Sites deny being harmful, saying they provide a community for those with eating disorders. The term “pro-ana” is broadly used, and sites vary greatly. “We offer them support, saying, ‘It will be. Continue going to your doctor’,” says five-foot, 89-pound proana.us owner Anna Robbins.
In November, the Academy for Eating Disorders suggested a mandatory warning statement: “Warning: anorexia nervosa is a potentially deadly illness. The site you are about to enter provides material that may be detrimental to your health.”
—Karen Springen
What proanorexia sites says…
When you’re hungry, take a nap. Shower, drink tea, numb your taste buds with teething gel, give yourself a manicure. Do anything but eat. These are some of the tips that “pro-ana,†or pro-anorexia Web sites offer to those who choose to restrict their eating.
These Web sites gained popularity the last few years as a kind of support group and community for those who have accepted anorexia as a lifestyle rather than a disorder. They have also become a source of national concern as those with eating disorders reinforce self-destructive habits and ideals through the Web sites.
Before this year, there was no actual study on the effects of viewing the Web sites, but two MU researchers, Anna Bardone-Cone and Kamila Cass, have published a pilot study in “European Eating Disorders Review.†Their larger study about the topic is being considered for publication in an eating disorder journal.
There is a format that comes with a pro-ana, mia (bulimia) or pro-ED (eating disorder) Web site. There’s the “thinspiration†section filled with pictures of rail-thin runway models and celebrities, sometimes accompanied with their measurements, “to set better goals for yourself and to keep on track,†as displayed on “Shophisticated,†a pro-ana Web site. There’s also the “reverse trigger†section, composed of pictures of morbidly obese people, greasy food and “fat†celebrities.
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Reasons for no eating (according pro-ana sites)
- you’ll feel better about yourself and have more confidence
- You’ll look much prettyer
- You’r clothes will fit better
- You’ll keep looking at ur hipbones in a low fit jeans
- low jeans, short top
- You can be yourself..
- you won’t have to hold yourself down or be feel embarassed
- You can change ur tankini for 10 little bikinis
- You can buy any clothes you want because everything will look good on you
- You don’t want to be ‘the chubbie girl‘ in your group of friends
- people will treat you different when you’r pretty
- nothing feels better than looking down at ur hipbones
- too many people are obese
- You’ll be able to move as quietly and skillfully as a spider
- underweight aka perfect body
Eating Disorder Sites: Harmful Tips
CBSNews is also talking about thinspiration and sites: “Kids Learn Harmful Behavior From Pro-Eating-Disorder Web Sites And Recovery Web Sites”
Teens with eating disorders are picking up dangerous tips from both pro-eating-disorder Web sites and sites designed to treat the problem, according to a new study.
And though most of their parents know about the pro-eating-disorder Web sites, few sit down and talk to their kids about them.
The so-called “pro-Ana” Web sites — shorthand for pro-anorexia — offer tips on extreme weight loss and purging. They suggest that believing one can’t be too thin is a lifestyle choice, not an eating disorder. The sites often offer strategies for avoiding detection by parents and doctors when purging. Site forums allow teens with eating disorders to share tips and offer support.
These sites usually carry “thinspiration” pictures — sometimes shocking images of extremely thin young people.
How much do teens with eating disorders and their parents know about these sites? In an effort to find out, researchers surveyed families of patients age 10-22 treated at Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
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Anorexics and bulimics learn methods online
Young sufferers of anorexia and bulimia who try to hide their eating problems from their parents and doctors are turning to a growing number of internet chat rooms dedicated to perpetuating their illness.
A pilot study released this week of US eating disorder patients aged between 10 and 22 showed that up to a third learn new weight loss or purging methods from websites that promote eating disorders by enabling users to share tips, such as what drugs induce vomiting and what internet sites sell them.
But the study - published in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics - found that eating disorder sufferers were also learning new high-risk ways to lose weight from each other on websites aimed at helping them recover.
The survey by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford showed a third of patients also visited pro-recovery sites and half of them learnt new weight loss and purging methods.
“Parents and physicians need to realise that the internet is essentially an unmonitored media forum,” said Rebecka Peebles, Packard Children’s adolescent medicine and eating disorder specialist and an author of the study.
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