Londons Fashion Week opens today. And as it reignites the debate over too-thin models, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is asking the British government to do something about pro-anorexia websites.

A Sept. 17 Reuters article provided the following information about the effort to regulate or eradicate websites that encourage the unhealthy eating practices that can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder:

Encouraged by social networking sites like Facebook and "thinspiration" Web sites, growing numbers of Britons are looking online to get tips on how to starve themselves or hide extreme weight loss, says the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

"(These) Web sites normalize illness," said Ulrike Schmidt, chair of the college's eating disorders section.

The report calls on the government to tackle the proliferation of pro-eating disorder sites as part of its wider efforts to safeguard children on the Internet through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).

Nearly 90 percent of eating disorder sufferers in Britain are teenage girls, and experts report that one in 10 repeatedly visit pro-eating disorder websites.

Labels: pro-ana, online, pro-mia, websites

Posted By: Aspen/CRC