Warning of web risk over eating disorders

Published on Sunday 7 January 2007 00:54

A CHARITY helping people with eating disorders has issued a warning about internet websites which it believes are leading vulnerable people into anorexia and bulimia.

Steve Bloomfield, of the Eating Disorders Association, claimed that the so-called "pro-ana" sites are "literally killing people".

Bloomfield said that young people could stumble across the sites and be led into seeing their disorder as a lifestyle choice, rather than a potentially fatal illness.

While the sites usually present themselves as support networks and deny that they are encouraging people to remain anorexic, research suggests that those using them are less likely to seek treatment, he said.

Some of the sites offer tips for becoming thinner alongside glamorous images of slim celebrities and models.

Bloomfield told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The danger of these sites is that often young people with an eating disorder don't understand what is happening to them. They are very scared of talking to their parents or teachers or doctors, so they turn to the internet for information.

"It is quite possible that using a search engine, you might end up with one of these pro-ana sites, rather than a good informational site. When you arrive there, it does seem that here is somebody who really understands exactly how I feel and understands my problems and my issues, and for them this is a good thing, it's a lifestyle choice.

"The great danger is that the people who construct these sites often have no idea of the terrible medical complications that come - the danger of losing your fertility, of developing osteoporosis - for some people if you resist treatment.

"About one in five people who don't get appropriate treatment die prematurely, so they are literally killing people."

Bloomfield said that evidence suggested use of the pro-ana sites made individuals more likely to try to manage their weight loss by themselves, instead of seeking help from medical professionals.

"We have seen research from the States that has definitely identified that the people who use these sites are more resistant to seeking help and treatment," he said.