In order to stay strong and determined not to eat young women suffering from anorexia are visiting so called pro anorexia or pro ana websites for inspiration, tips, help and discussions with girls in similar situations as themselves. Pro anorexia websites encourage girls to stay thin or get thinner and consist of any imaginable form of inspiration to become thin. What are pro anorexia websites, what do the websites consists of, who visits them and why do people frequent these websites?

Pro anorexia websites promote the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. They portray the disorder as something positive and greatly encourage it. Young women from all over the world have one reason in common for visiting these websites; thinspiration. They find their way to these so called pro ana websites for inspiration to loose weight and to keep their motivation level high. Regardless of what eating disorder a person may suffer from they are bound to find a website dedicated to it and by that meaning devoted to encouraging the disorder. Similar to pro anorexia websites pro bulimia websites are very common as well, these websites carry the nick-name pro mia. In the world of eating disorders ana and mia are well known names.

Pro anorexia websites consist mainly of different types of inspiration, anything from tips of what to eat to stay thin, the amount of calories and fat in various products, tips on how to avoid eating or getting out of family dinners, articles, links and more to diet tips and other weight loss related items, pictures of emaciated models or celebrities as well as pictures of the members of these websites showing off their bones clearly protruding from their bodies. Most pro anorexia websites consist of some sort of message board or community where visitors can post questions, pictures, comments and more. Posts from a member showing off their personal pictures are most often followed by several comments from girls expressing their envy of the posters body. All the members and visitors of the website are visiting for one purpose only, what they call thinspiration, a self-explanatory word.

Pro anorexia websites have become so common that suffering from anorexia no longer is a given if you are a regular visitor of these websites. Many teenage girls visit these websites to find tips on how to loose weight, they do not fall into the category of being underweight yet nor are they overweight, thankfully they are a good normal and healthy size but feel fat because of pressures from classmates and friends as well as the above mentioned causes and even parents sometimes. Feeling fat they find their way to the pro anorexia websites to find tips on how to loose weight as well as inspiration to stay strong. Eventually a healthy girl may develop an eating disorder primarily because of the encouragement she gets through a pro anorexia website.

It is clear that most of these girls are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to reach their goal weight and once there, they want to loose more. This is typical behaviour of girls with anorexia. Many girls will post their current height and weight followed by their lowest, highest and goal weights. Some girls appear to be at a rather normal weight but seem eager to become anorexic which most likely is their reason for visiting these websites.

In researching pro anorexia websites I was very disturbed by the tips given from girls younger than myself as well as the heartbreaking pictures of emaciated young girls. At times I wondered how they found the strength to get out of bed with such an undernourished body, most of them are nothing but skin and bone and hardly even that. What surprised me at times was these girls’ insight and comprehension of the dangers of purging and using laxatives to loose weight, and their determination to continue despite their awareness. Many girls would state how tired or hungry they were with pride and joy because to them feeling tired and hungry is a type of confirmation of that they are loosing weight and becoming undernourished which is their goal.

Some girls say that they need pro anorexia websites to stay strong, that without them they would not know what to do. Girls with serious cases of anorexia see pro anorexia websites as a comfort. Ana (anorexia) is their friend, it is who they are and they have no way of getting away from it. Without anorexia they feel as though they are nothing, without their disorder they feel empty and lost therefore they keep working at it, they let it consume them completely.

During my research of pro anorexia websites I was shocked by what I came across; the pictures were absolutely heartbreaking. I could not understand how someone would willingly do something like that to themselves. Anorexia nervosa is however a disease that changes a person’s interpretation of their body and self. The girl posting pictures of herself with her bones jutting out does not see what I manage to see; neither do the girls posting comments praising the girl.

I want to make a difference. I want to help young and old people with eating disorders. That is why I write about this. That is why I want more and more people to be aware of what is going on and how we all are contributing to the continuation of eating disorders by our acceptance of “thin is beautiful”! We have to say, “NO!” We have to work together. Attitudes do not change by themselves and we cannot wait until “someone else” makes changes come about. We all need to take an active roll in establishing a healthier view of our body images and ourselves.

Research sources: I have chosen not to give direct links to the websites I have visited as research as I do not want to advertise websites that encourage eating disorders.

Pictures found through google image search.