Pro-eating disorder websites should be regulated

Now that winter break has ended, students are flocking to the gym. Some are trying to fulfill that New Year's resolution and others are simply shocked by what Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners have done to their previously summer-ready svelte bodies.

Students can get nasty surprises when they remove the jackets, sweaters, turtlenecks and scarves to find lumps or bumps where there previously were none. Perhaps it is appropriate that February plays host to National Eating Disorder Awareness week. It takes place from Feb. 22-28 and encourages messages of hope and recovery.

In the United States alone, 10 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men are battling eating disorders, according to nationaleatingdisorders.org. Something needs to be done about this and society, as well as the growth of technology, is only hindering the problem.

By the time young women get to college, they have inevitably seen pictures and videos of models, actresses and just plain lucky women with fast metabolisms. However, it is unrealistic in American culture for these young women to reflect the airbrushed and doctored photos in magazines and live in America - a fast-food nation. Young girls in American culture don't have a healthy image to compare themselves to. Fifty years ago, people were considered beautiful with curves and some meat on their bones. Marilyn Monroe was the sex-symbol of her time and she was far from bony.

Now, in addition to media images, advertisements and societal pressure to be thin, women have growing technology and the internet to pressure them as well. There are numerous pro-anorexia sites popping up with tips on how to starve oneself better or stave off hunger. These Web sites are becoming commonplace and ruining millions of young women's lives.

Everybody certainly has a right to free speech and generally I would advocate that any information should be allowed on the web, but "pro-ana" Web sites are a different, dangerous story.

The only benefit to a Web site like that is that girls with eating disorders know that they are not alone and they can see that many other people are struggling with the same problem. However, the sites are not a recovery support system - far from it. They use "thinspo" or thin inspiration to encourage each other to drop more and more weight.

When women are experiencing a disorder, they need help, reassurance and counseling at times. The last thing they need are tips on how to fool others about their actual weight or how to eat 100 fewer calories per day. The sites are dangerous and should be regulated or taken off the Internet.

The first thing that pops up when you Google, "how to commit suicide" is a seemingly informational site, but if you take a closer look, it is a story about recovery. The next result is a list of suicide methods courtesy of Wikipedia. There are not many sites that instruct people on how to kill themselves, but pro-anorexia sites do just that, just not blatantly.

Upon Googling "pro-anorexia," the first result that appears is the "World's Largest Pro-anorexia Site." The rules include things like, "no posting of anything that isn't thinspiration" and, "if someone states they are doing something, don't tell them to stop."

The site does include warnings that the bloggers are sensitive and may be suicidal so others should avoid criticism, etc. But that does not stop a woman from posting pictures of herself at 72 pounds and bragging about the fact that she fasted for 9 days straight. It is dangerous and there needs to be some sort of regulation. People with eating disorders need a controlled, supportive environment - not one that encourages their delusions. One blogger on the site inquired if anyone would be legally liable if another blogger died or killed herself because of posted advice. It is a serious issue.

In light of eating disorder week and the masses of college students storming the gym to shed those extra pounds before spring, whoever is in charge of the site should consider regulating it. Perhaps whoever regulates it could post links to sites about recovery and help, giving disordered people other options. Education about the issue may benefit someone with the problem, but encouragement to lose weight will only bring someone closer to the end.

Pay careful attention as National Eating Disorder Awareness week approaches and help friends in need, or at least discourage them from using pro-anorexia forums to express their problems. They will only get hurt.