As more and more information found its way to the Internet, regarding the dangers and health risks that anorexia posed, people from the pro-ana movement felt the need to have in place information that would act as counterpoints to all the claims made by the anti-anorexia groups. The easiest way to do this was, of course, to have their own websites and discussion forums. This was how the pro-ana sites came into being.

The pro-ana websites remained popular for about two years since they came into being, up to 2003.After that year, they have slowly gone out of circulation. How that came about can never be ascertained – possibly the numbers game caused it – there were far too many resources with enough scientific and medical evidence to prove that anorexia was definitely a medical disorder, and if someone was into it thinking it to be a kind of lifestyle, that person was sadly mistaken and needed urgent help.

Pro-Ana Websites – How they Operate

At first glance, a pro-ana website will always seem to be the evil witch that is trying to lure innocents into its lair and devouring them; that these sides are looking to ‘convert’ normal, healthy individuals into anorexics. However, this is not true most of the time.

Pro-ana websites and discussion forums are basically of three types:

Exclusive sites

These are not open to all and sundry. Only members can enter these sites. They are very wary of letting in new members.

Average sites

These sites are not all that picky about who they let in. They are open to even ex-anorexics, or anorexics that have realized that they need help and are looking for someone to help them out.

Hardcore anorexic sites

These sites are not open to people that are trying to stop being anorexics. These sites are pretty strict again about who accesses them. Sometimes, these sites carry information that may seem outrageous to a normal healthy individual – usually this information would be in the form of pointers to how to maintain the overly slim figure that the anorexic has managed to have. Some really hardcore sites go a step further – they provide information on how anorexics can prevent their family members from finding out the truth about them.

Pro-Ana Sites – Helpful or Harmful?

In a way, it was good that the pro-ana forums and websites are around. They give more insights into the problems that anorexics face, insights that come from anorexics themselves and are not the findings of some medical study or survey.

On the other hand, the very existence of these sites brings with it a great risk. While it is okay for anorexics to go to these sites and interact among themselves, access to these online hotspots is open to the general non-anorexic population as well. The gravest danger lies in the fact that there is a strong possibility that non-anorexics, especially children, could get into these areas and be influenced into becoming anorexics.

Pro Ana & Thinspiration >>