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British charity issues anorexia Internet warning
2007-01-06
Web sites that promote anorexia and bulimia as a lifestyle choice rather than as diseases are killing people, a British charity helping people with eating disorders said on Saturday. Pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia Web sites present themselves as support networks and deny they are encouraging people to remain thin, but they also offer tips for becoming thinner alongside glamorous images of slim celebrities and models. "The danger of these sites is that often young people with an eating disorder don't understand what is happening to them," Steve Bloomfield, the Eating Disorders Association's head of communications, told BBC Radio. "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." According to Professor Janet Treasure, head of the eating disorders service and research unit at King's College London, five to ten percent of women aged 14 to 24 in Britain suffer from some form of eating disorder. The ratio falls to 1 percent for the whole female population. "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," added Bloomfield. In December a pilot study -- published in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics -- of eating disorder patients aged between 10 and 22 in the United States showed up to a third learn new weight loss or purging methods from Web sites that promote eating disorders. Internet chat rooms also enable users to share tips, such as what drugs induce vomiting and what Internet sites sell them. Eating disorders returned to the global spotlight late last year when two models suffering from anorexia died in Brazil and Uruguay. The fashion industry has long been blamed for encouraging anorexia and bulimia among teenagers with its use of excessively thin catwalk models. In September, the city of Madrid banned models below a certain weight from its fashion week shows.
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