Ana Blogs and Websites Encourage Eating Disorders

Posted on June 15, 2005

A recent CBS news story says that some blogs and websites are encouraging eating disorders. These blogs and sites are created by the people who actually have the eating disorders. A network of "ana" blogs and websites encourages young girls to participate in behavior that makes anorexia far worse instead of better. The teens post frightening weight goals and photographs of their idols: Lindsay Lohan and Mary-Kate Olsen.

"When they do something, they tend to pursue it to the fullest extent. In that respect, Ana may almost become a religion for them," says Carmen Mikhail, director of the eating disorders clinic at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

She and others point to the "Ana creed," a litany of beliefs about control and starvation, that appears on many Web sites and blogs. At least one site encourages followers to make a vow to Ana and sign it in blood.

People with eating disorders who've been involved in the movement confirm its cult-like feel.

"People pray to Ana to make them skinny," says Sara, a 17-year-old in Columbus, Ohio, who was an avid organizer of Ana followers until she recently entered treatment for her eating disorder. She spoke on the condition that her last name not be used.

This is harmful side of blogging where a group of like-minded bloggers are sharing misinformation and encouraging self-harm.



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