Pro-Anorexia

What is pro-anorexia?
Pro-anorexia, or "pro-ana", is the belief that eating disorders (specifically anorexia and bulimia) are lifestyle choices an individual makes to lose a significant amount of weight and maintain an unhealthy low weight. This belief is commonly held among eating disorder sufferers as a way to deny the seriousness of their illness. All psychological research indicates that eating disorders are, in fact, mental disorders and not lifestyle choices.

The appeal of pro-anorexia to eating disorder sufferers is that they are able to maintain the illusion that they are in control of their food and weight because they are choosing to restrict calories and/or purge their food. Acknowledging that they are actually suffering from a mental disorder implies that they are not truly in control, and that their weight loss isn't the result of their lifestyle choices regarding caloric intake and exercise.

Pro-anorexic Web sites
Pro-anorexic Web sites contain information and discussion forums on how to maintain an eating disorder. "Tips" are provided on various topics such as how much to eat, when to eat, what to eat, how to induce vomiting, and how to keep these extreme behaviors a secret from friends and family. These sites are maintained by eating disorder sufferers who consider themselves to be "pro-anorexic". The sites are designed for the purpose of "helping" others like them and forming a supportive community to discuss their disordered thoughts and behaviors because they cannot do so with their friends and family.

"Ana" and "Mia" are terms used to personify anorexia and bulimia, as if the disorder was some sort of friend. To an eating disorder sufferer, the illness can certainly seem like a friend. It's this "friend" who helps them lose weight and who makes them feel good about themselves for being so thin. Phrases such as "ana will protect me" are not uncommon because anorexia is typically a coping mechanism to protect the sufferer from being vulnerable to real problems and issues. As long as someone is consumed by their anorexic "lifestyle" and thoughts, then real-life concerns don't impact them as they otherwise would.

Life with an eating disorder is a lonely existence. Pro-anorexic Web communities make this existence less lonely, and members sometimes make friends with other pro-anorexics. "Ana buddies" are people who encourage and support each other's weight loss, so that they feel less alone in their pursuit of extreme thiness.

These Web sites also contain "thinspiration" or "thinspo", which are photos of severely emaciated women-usually models or other anorexics. This thinspiration is supposed to "inspire" the pro-anorexics to keep losing weight until they are just as skinny as the women in the photos.

Pro-anorexic communities are not exclusive to young women. These sites often attract men, or women well into adulthood. Eating disorders affect people of all ages, so these pro-ana sites naturally attract people of all ages as well. While it would seem that an adult might "know better", many adults are just as reluctant as teenagers to admit the seriousness of their problem and seek help.

Pointing the finger at pro-anorexic sites
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding these Web sites. The media are quick to point the finger at these sites as causing eating disorders. There was a movement in 2001 for the major search engines to remove pro-anorexic sites from their indices so that young women could not find them and become influenced by their messages. Yahoo! was the leading search engine at the time and it removed the major pro-anorexic sites from its results. Nowadays, so many sites have popped up, that it's impossible for search engines to identify them all. There is also a movement to have these sites shut down, but it has thus far been unsuccessful.

Having studied these sites and spoken with many eating disorder sufferers, I've observed that these sites cannot be held responsible for the growing number of eating disorders. If a young woman is searching for pro-anorexic Web sites, or is spending an extensive amount of time at these sites, then she's probably pre-disposed to developing an eating disorder.

Mentally healthy people do not have the desire to lose extreme amounts of weight or to become anorexic. While pro-anorexic sites are often accused of helping people become anorexic, I would argue that the pre-disposition was already there, and the individual would have developed the disorder at some point or another, with or without the Web site.

I've heard the term "wannarexic" being used by members of pro-anorexic communities to describe people who do not have eating disorders, but want to develop them. It's a negative term that pro-anorexics use to distinguish themselves as the real anorexics, while the others are just "wannabes". Why would someone want to be anorexic? From the perspective of the sufferer, losing extreme amounts of weight and maintaining an unhealthy low weight is viewed as an accomplishment, and signifies control. Anorexics often consider themselves "special" for their ability to be much thinner than the general population, and their identity becomes wrapped up in their low weight. They take pride in their disorder and view it as a lifestyle choice.

How parents can help
Parents who suspect that their child might have an eating disorder or might be visiting pro-anorexic Web sites should have an open conversation with their child about their thoughts and behaviors regarding food. If the child gets defensive or denies the eating disorder and/or visiting the Web sites, then parents should continue to monitor their child's behavior, especially around meal times.

It's important for parents to get involved at an early stage, before the the child begins to show obvious physical signs of malnutrition. Parents can teach their children a great deal by exemplifying healthy eating habits and encouraging their children to eat the foods they enjoy. Parents who are dieting themselves should be careful about discussing their diets around their children, or exhibiting restrictive eating patterns when their children are present.

Pro-anorexic longevity
Pro-anorexic sites have been in existence for nearly a decade, but from what I have witnessed, the pro-anorexic attitude is short-lived. The pro-anorexics who developed these Web sites years ago are, for the most part, no longer maintaining them. This is not to say that pro-anorexic sites and online communities no longer exist-- it's just that they are being maintained by people who are in the earlier stages of their eating disorders.

Typically after six months to a year, the sufferer comes to realize that her behaviors are more serious and have more implications than she originally thought. In reality, anorexics are not in control of their food and weight-their obsession with weight loss comes to control them and overtake every aspect of their lives. Whether it happens gradually, or there is some moment of epiphany when the sufferer realizes that they have a real eating disorder, the pro-anorexic attitude does not last forever. The disorder, on the other hand, might.