As a regular Tumblr user, I occasionally come across a reblogged pro-ana post in my feed. The line between a pro-health blog is very narrow because pro-health turns into pro-fitness which turns into pro-thin or "thinspiration" which can turn to pro-ana. But eating disorders are a mental illness.
The pro-ana community exists and some sites are trying to help those in it and bring attention to this community of individuals. Pro-ana refers to the promotion, or support of the eating disorder, anorexia.
The term, or name, "ana" or "Ana" oftentimes personifies the disease:
The New York Times examined the phenomenon of the pro-ana communities. Mim Udovitch of "The New York Times" spoke with several individuals from the pro-ana sites in 2002.
"What Clairegirl, sitting shivering on the running track, would say today is that when she
reaches her current goal weight, she will stay there. But she can't ever really see herself
giving ana up altogether. ''I don't think I could ever stop, like, wanting to not eat. Like,
I could keep myself from eating below 300 calories a day. But I could never see myself
eating more than 1,000,' she says, wrapping her arms around her knees."
Posts within the pro-ana community on Tumblr share advice for eating less, exercising more, and sharing their calorie intake.
While the pro-ana community does exist, their are websites designed to help combat this disorder. "The Telegraph" posted an article on Feb. 24 providing advice to parents whose children are viewing this types of websites. New Statesmen also published an article about the need to ste up and help those with eating disorders.
By: Emily Brown
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