Health sites worsen the health of adolescents

Pro-"ana" (anorexia) and pro-"mia" (bulimia) Web sites claiming to help adolescents with eating disorders are intentionally or unintentionally making them worse. Researchers at Stanford University examined the effects of pro-eating disorder web sites and found that youngsters who used them were sick longer.

A study conducted by the researchers at Stanford University found that 50% of young people that accessed pro-eating disorder sites, learned new ways to lose weight and were overall at a greater risk of suffering from eating disorder for a longer period of time.

“Well intended or not, they're not benign," says Dr. Rebecka Peebles of Stanford University, coauthor of ‘Surfing for Thinness,’ published in Pediatrics last week.

"If parents wouldn't let their kids go out to dinner or talk on the phone with someone they don't know, they should ask themselves what their child might be up to on the computer," she said adding, "Parents and physicians need to realize that the Internet is essentially an unmonitored media forum."

Up to an estimated 1 percent of adolescent and adult women are diagnosed as anorexic, and another 1 percent to 2 percent are diagnosed as bulimic.

Around 200 websites that are supposed to be helping people get better and overcome their eating problems are floating around the web but are doing the exact opposite of the purpose they claim to serve.

A mandatory warning statement was suggested by the Academy for Eating Disorders in November which states: “Warning: anorexia nervosa is a potentially deadly illness. The site you are about to enter provides material that may be detrimental to your health."