U.S. researchers published a report in the June 17, 2010 issue of American Journal of Public Health saying about 180 websites actively encourage, support and motivate their site users to engage in eating disorders anorexia or bulimia.

Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by emaciation, a relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a body weight considered healthy or normal, a distortion of body image and intense fear of gaining weight.

Bulimia is characterized by recurrent and frequent episodes of eating large amounts of foods like binge-eating and feeling they lose control over the eating.  This disorder accompanies a type of behavior that compensates for the binge such as purging to get rid of the food they overeat.

Borzekowski D.L. and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the features of pro-eating disorder websites and the messages they give their web users and found many features that encourage web users to practice anorexia and bulimia.

The researchers found the following

91 percent of the websites were open to the public ;

79 percent had interactive features;

84 percent offered pro-anorexia content;

64 percent provided pro-bulimia content;

85 percent showed thinspiration material;

83 percent suggested how to engage in eartingdisordered behaviors;

38 percent included recovery information;

Few sites focused on eating disorders as a lifestyle choice;

The researchers concluded "Pro-eating disorder Web sites present graphic material to encourage, support, and motivate site users to continue their efforts with anorexia and bulimia."

Both anorexia and bulimia and other undefined eating disorders can lead to severe malnutrition or even death and people who practice this type of lifestyle are more likely than others to die from various causes.  For instance, people with anorexia are more than 10  times more likely to die that others from complications such as cardiac arrest, and electrolyte and fluid imbalances.

DL