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July 02, 2010
Researchers Examine Websites Promoting Eating Disorders.
ABC World News (6/17, story 6, 1:55, Sawyer) reported, "There are troubling new findings tonight about that insidious Internet threat -- websites promoting eating disorders, targeting young men and women. Researchers now say they have found 180 of these sites, and they've discovered hidden ways fragile teens are recruited."
HealthDay (6/17, Goodwin) reported that the study published in the June 17 issue of the American Journal of Public Health found that in addition to pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites, "eating disorder experts say they now have to contend with 'pro-ana' and 'pro-mia' bloggers and 'thinspiration' Twitter updates sent right to an interested party's mobile phone." Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that "'thinspiration,' such as photos or videos of very thin models and actresses, were on 85 percent of the sites. And about 43 percent provided specific instructions on concealing eating disorders." Notably, "only 13 percent of sites contained an overt statement that eating disorders are a problem."
Posted by admin at July 2, 2010 05:31 PM