Have you met my friends Ana and Mia?
17 comments on this post
I recently became aware of the dangerous and disgusting pro-ana and pro-mia 'phenomenon'. For those of you who may not be familiar, Ana and Mia are slang for anorexia and bulimia and are used as a sort of code amongst those with eating disorders (as in a fake friend named Ana or Mia). The pro-ana and pro-mia movements are those that promote anorexia and/or bulimia as a lifestyle choice rather than eating disorders. Let me repeat that. There is a movement that promotes anorexia and bulimia as a lifestyle choice, NOT an eating disorder.
These websites are designed to share tips on crash dieting, binging, how to induce vomiting, how to hide weight loss from parents and doctors, etc. as well as sharing photos of what are called "thinspiration". These are photos that range from slim women to those of emaciated women with protruding bones. Nearly all of the websites feature a generous helping of photos of glorified stick thin celebrities such as Kiera Knightly and Nicole Ritchie. While I was investigating these websites I was, to be perfectly honest, completely horrified and appalled. It was like being a witness to a train wreck, carnage was all around but I couldn't avert my eyes. The pictures began to cause me to feel physical (empathetic) pain. The photo above is one of the less horrifying yet poignant examples of thinspiration that I felt was suitable for this site.
While I am all in favor of support groups for individuals suffering from eating disorders, these websites are destructive and sick. I hope that the people who utilize those sites get the help that they so desperately need.
By Chandra - 5/13/2008
17 Comments:
Chandra, your post highlights one of the many drawbacks of the free flow of information that occurs via the internet. It allows people with disorders to find like minds and perpetuate and intensify their sickness. I think the control of eating disorders begins in the schools. Whether it is anorexia, bulimia, or obesity, kids stand a better chance of avoiding these diseases if they are taught how to eat right in schools and fed healthy foods that make them feel good physically to establish good habits.
...your post highlights one of the many drawbacks of the free flow of information that occurs via the internet. It allows people with disorders to find like minds and perpetuate and intensify their sickness.
Like this website.
Sorry dude...it was there. ;)
There's a girl I walk by every morning in a gym in Cleveland. The gym is in the Colonial Marketplace between Prospect and Euclid, and she's in there on the eliptical every freaking day. She's freakishly thin, and I just want to tell her to talk to someone.
Kyle...the people who suffer from eating disorders that I know personally were taught how to eat healthy. The disorder is just that, a mental and physiological disorder caused by genetic (twins become anorexic), neurobiological (same neurotransmitters are affected that affect anxiety, depression, etc) , nutritional (zinc deficiency) psychological (feeling fat or unattractive) and social (thin is in) factors. The solution goes way beyond teaching good nutrition.
There are two types of anorexics: 'wannarexics' and true anorexics. Wannarexics are typically pre-teen and teen girls who think that anorexia is a diet or is in some way cool. These girls are often looking for attention. Learning about good nutrition and exercise may be beneficial for them as they are typically distressed by the chagnes that their bodies are going through (i.e. the pudginess that occurs right before a growth spurt). However, for true anorexics the disorder requires serious intervention on the part of behavorial health care workers. A large percentage of anorexics have other issues that lead to anorexia, such as a history of sexual abuse or various events which have caused turmoil. For many anorexics they feel that their weight is the only thing in their life that they have control over.
Russ, overexercising is one form in which anorexia occurs.
There is such a wide continuum in healthy body types between the extremes of emaciated and obese. I wish that everyone could see the difference between being healthy and being runway thin.
Russ, fair point on this site and I did set myself up for that. I didn't mean to suggest that healthy food in schools can solve the all problems of people with minor or serious eating disorders. I just think it is a good place to start to address many of the health related problems in our culture and hopefully it would benefit some people with eating disorders.
Russ and Chandra, what can we do we to start to fix this problem from a public policy standpoint?
Chandra - It's interesting that you posted this today...as I was walking down the street today, there was a young thin girl walking in front of me. I didn't take much notice until she turned around a few minutes later and I realized I was looking at someone who was at least in her early twenties. I thought she was about ten before I saw her face! Now, I recognize that there are those who have a very small bone structure, but I was very disturbed to see how thin she was. Like Russ, I was shocked into almost saying something...but how can a stranger confront someone with such a topic? So, I can only echo Kyle's question and ask how this problem can be confronted by a concerned public.
Wow, I feel like I've been given a homework assignment! I don't know the answer as it relates specifically to eating disorders. I was part of a roundtable discussion a couple of weeks ago as part of the Summit 2010 project and the topic was behavioral health. There is such a stigma attached to behavioral health. People have no problem engaging in preventative wellness as it relates to physical health and will certainly see a health professional when they are physically ill but balk at seeking such treatment when it comes to mental health.
Clearly there are issues, as it relates to eating disorders that relate to healthy body images and that is a media/social issue but the full blame can not be laid there. It's quite an interesting issue.
Geezus folks =====> I was working in Brook Park and saw a man about 20+ who stood about 7 ft tall and weighed about 120lbs. His clothes hung on him like on a clothesline...he kept pulling up his pants as they fell from his non existent waist....I felt like saying "HOWDY Stretch!" as he walked by
This disease is just another item that I will never understand...but I have pity for the afflicted.
Bye Bye- Going for a sandwich
It's a self image issue and somehow, each individual needs to be able to see what they truly look like - not the image of themselves that they perceive.
I have no solution to this one. What's interesting though is that while anorexia and bulimia have touched all races, it's whites who suffer from this the most. My assistant at work, a black female, says it's "Because our men like us thick."
That picture is sick
So perhaps a better policy question is, "how do we get white men to like thick girls?"
And I don't mean Jessica Alba or Jennifer Love Hewitt or other media-portrayed "thick" women. JLH is a size 2 and I could snap her in half.
Funny side note-- I was once walking down Main Street late at night and a homeless man told me I could be in a Sir Mix A Lot video; I think it was a compliment.
I like thick ones and I am sure Russ does too
Chandra, I didn't mean to give you homework. I was just curious what ideas are out there. It isn't an issue that I get to think about very often and I appreciate you raising it.
In addition to food in schools, I'd also think more physical education would help. Learning to exercise and fuel your body properly is important. I really think there is a connection between healthy food and a healthy body image for teenagers. Kids raised on chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and mountain dew every meal of every day are not going to have a very good understanding of how to eat right. So, I'd think they be more prone to obesity or eating disorders.
I don't discriminate, Petey. Thick, thin, short, tall...they're all good.
Love thy neighbor
Love thy neighbors body - Thats LUST
Kyle, my daughter who teaches at Project Rebuild in Canton, is having a cultural exchange dinner in Middlefield for the school at an Amish Farm. We are trying to address the problem of the kids NOT eating properly.
Just wait til they see all the meat. gravy and pies!
Petey,
Perhaps the cultural exchange should include an explanation of why Amish can eat the foods that they do. It's the same reason modern Americans can't eat the same 'comfort foods' of past generations...we don't live the same lifestyle that allows us to burn the calories. I mean, if I were a farmer, got up at the crack of dawn and worked until sunset I could eat pie at every meal as well!
Thats true. I have a friend from India who began eating the American/McDonalds diet in the 60's and had a quadruple bypass in the 80's
The Amish still succumb to the heart problems but just not as much as a dodo who sits in front of a computer all week and eats McDonalds
An even more amazing difference in human groups in alcohol toleration/intoleration
Russ, I just knew you area 007 caliber guy
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