Business of Life

Worshiping "Ana", Discouraging Recovery

Watch out for those eating disorder, anorexia sites.  They don't really help by suggesting that anorexia or bulimia is a "lifestyle" choice and not an illness. 

In too many cases, they glorify these often offer fatal disorders with glamorous shots of too thin models and bad advice.  Often, they sell jewelry -thin red "ana" (anorexia) or thin purple "mia" (bulimia) bracelets  - as a badge of identity as well as status symbol.

Nearly two-thirds of visitors to those sites used new weight loss or purging techniques they learned on the site according to researchers at Stanford University who presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies this week. Glorification of these often fatal eating disorders is flourishing they say, and some of those sites discourage recovery.

Here's a good one: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

update: more on the story  -Cult-like Lure of "Ana" Attracts Anorexics