Thinspiration?

A decade ago, the Web wasn’t full of sites offering “thinspiration” and tips on weight loss and purging secrets for thousands of anorexics and bulimics.

Not only are there dozens of these “pro-ana” and “pro-mia” – for pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia – on the Web, these groups are springing up on social networking sites like My Space and Facebook.

According to a 2007 BBC News report, pro-ana and pro-mia sites, which promote anorexia and bulimia not as eating disorders but lifestyle choices, have been relatively anonymous. But on social networking sites, “users have real names and faces.”

A couple of the eating-disorder-as-lifestyle Facebook groups offer warnings by Facebook about the content of those groups. Fortunately, a group featured on the BBC news report, Pro Ana Nation, no longer exists on MySpace.

Sites like these are dangerous because people already suffering from eating disorders and others who may develop them can learn new weight loss methods.

The National Eating Disorders Association’s position is that, “these sites provide no useful information on treatment but instead encourage and falsely support those who, sadly, are ill but do not seek help.”