Eating Disorders Blog

Psychiatrists in Britain are urging the British government to take steps against pro-anorexia ("pro-ana") and pro-bulimia ("pro-mia") websites.

In September 2008, the British government established the UK Council for Child Internet Safety to deliver recommendations regarding such websites made by Professor Tanya Byron in her report "Safer Children in a Digital World." Now, members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Eating Disorders Section claim the council's plans for action do not go far enough because they fail to specifically address pro-eating disorder websites.

This week, the Royal College published a position paper on the issue, requesting that the council increase its efforts by:

"Expanding its definition of harmful web content to include pro-eating disorder websites,
"Extending its plans to moderate Internet sites that promote harmful behavior to include pro-eating disorder websites, and
"Specifically addressing pro-eating disorder websites in its plans to raise awareness of e-safety among parents and teachers.

Professor Ulrike Schmidt, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Eating Disorders Section, commented:

The broader societal context in which pro-ana and pro-mia sites thrive is one where young women are constantly bombarded with toxic images of supposed female perfection that are impossible to achieve, make women feel bad about themselves and significantly increase their risk of eating disorders & Pro-ana websites normalise illness.

In much the same way, the catwalks of international fashion events such as London Fashion Week can act as a showcase for underweight women. We are very concerned that the lack of medical checks for models at London Fashion Week, coupled with working in an environment where being underweight is considered the norm, prevents models with eating disorders from gaining insight into their condition.

(Source: media-newswire.com)

Labels: anorexia, pro-anorexia, britian

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British experts are seeing an increase in orthorexia nervosa, an eating disorder in which people become fixated on eating only healthy foods and increasingly restricting their diets. Orthorexics go to extreme measures to avoid foods they see as "unhealthy" - fats, carbohydrates, preservatives, and others.
Deanne Jane, the founder of the National Centre for Eating Disorders in Britain, believes that at some point, society became disconnected from food. She believes that individuals with orthorexic tendencies receive motivation and encouragement from a number of supposedly trustworthy sources:

"It's everywhere, from the people who think it's normal if their friends stop eating entire food groups, to the trainers in the gym who [promote] certain foods to enhance performance, to the proliferation of nutritionists, dieticians and naturopaths. ... This is all grist for the mill to those looking for proof to confirm or encourage their anxieties around food."

As an individual's diet becomes more and more restricted, the risk of rapid and unhealthy weight loss, as well as malnutrition, osteoporosis, and other health complications, increases. In its most extreme form, orthorexia can result in starvation and death.

(Source: pitch.com)

Labels: eating disorder, orthorexia, britian

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