Groshan Fabiola

Anorexia is a mental condition typical of the modern society in which beauty is represented by thinness for most people, and in which fat persons are considered disgracious by many. In these conditions, many young girls and women, even some men in a few cases, start doing everything they can to lose weight, and they go into a sort of a frenzy and stop eating anything, which leads to serious health issues and eventually to death through starvation. These people affected by anorexia start loosing a lot of weight, but they do not realize it and although they are much thinner then they should be they can't put an end to their thoughts that they are not thin enough and try to lose more weight. Quite a lot of people suffer from anorexia nervosa, and also a few famous singers and actresses have had anorexia problems which lead to death in some cases.

Although anorexia is a serious condition which destroys many innocent young lives, some people are having a pro-anorexia attitude, and there is a number of websites on the Internet that encourages anorexic people and gives advises about how to stay away from food and how to lose even more weight. This attitude is totally unacceptable because it promotes eating disorder and illness.

These pro anorexia websites try to help anorexics integrate into the society (a common fact about anorexic people is that they tend to keep away from society because they feel fat and therefore rejected), support them, and also to make them know other people like them.

Pro anorexia (or pro-ana) sites sustain that anorexia nervosa and the permanent preoccupation for thinness and diets is not a disease, it is a lifestyle, and anorexics are idealists which promote abstinence and healty fat-free food.

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These websites have forums on them where anorexic people come and post their ideas and needs and others come and answer their questions and help them. These forums usually encourage anorexia and on them there are a lot of posts where excessive loss of weight and extreme thinness are also encouraged.

Some of the pro anorexia organizations are quite extreme and they mock everyone that considers their 'lifestyle' a disease that needs treatment. They claim to support anorexics and help them but what at first sight seems to be a supportive site may be in fact a pro-anorexia one. They also post pictures of really thin stars or of themselves if they are very thin, in order to inspirate other people to become like that.

Society's attitude about these pro anorexia sites is of course a negative one, but this matter should be debated and taken more into attention because these sites are dangerous, especially for lost young girls that are too shy to speak to their family. These kids may find friends in these pro anorexia communities and start to be anorexic themselves too and have an ideal in becoming extremely thin. A harsh attitude should be taken against pro anorexia in order to prevent this misconception that it is a lifestyle from spreading and to help those who suffer from it get treatment.