Type “pro-anorexia” into Google and before you appear a worrying amount of pro anorexia websites encouraging the weight obsessed among us to eat as little as possible to achieve an exceptionally skinny figure.

Pro-anorexia websites are readily available online and can be found without much effort, which is rather disturbing because Beat ( the leading UK charity for people with eating disorders) have estimated that around 90,000 in the UK people are receiving treatment for anorexia or bulimia. Combining this with the number of people who are yet to be diagnosed with an eating disorder and are still suffering in the silence, the figure rises to a shocking 1.15 million people and Beat estimate that 10 per cent of all cases of eating disorders will be male.

In their fight to control pro anorexia websites Beat said:“The dangerous aspect of any pro- anorexia/ bulimia site is that they can encourage people to avoid treatment or gain ideas about how to maintain their disorder. We believe that the site owners should act responsibly. Anorexia and bulimia are dangerous activities and people can be encouraged to copy them At the same time we do acknowledge that the main reason people access these sites is to find support, understanding and acceptance.  We don't call for the sites to be banned, but rather for everyone else to consider how they can also provide that understanding and acceptance so that these sites don't become the only refuge for someone. “

Despite the main reason people with weight issues go on these websites is to find support, the websites do offer a lot of weight control and diet “advice” which could cause health issues to people who take on this advice and could worsen their problems.

One of the more popular pro-anorexia sites gives its visitors “advice” on how to control their weight, which they label “thinspiraton”. Their weight loss guidance includes encouraging people to pour something “gross” on their food like “pepper or salt” so they can’t eat it; the website even suggests that if they are dining out they should say they “accidently put too much pepper or salt” on their food.

The website continues to advise its visitors to “eat in front of a mirror naked” to put them off their food, never to eat dinner, to “pinch” all of their fat if they want to eat and see how “disgusting it is” and to “stay away from food and the kitchen” unless their parents are about and then they should just pretend they have just finished getting a snack.

One of the most troubling things about this particular website is its views on hunger. The website suggests that hunger is “proving to yourself that you can do the undoable. Most people can’t make it more than a few hours without food and you’re determined to go days, push weeks. You must prove this in order to prove your worth.” It even goes as far as to imply that hunger means “purity” and means “you’re free of your sins.”

Pro- anorexia websites also encourage their members to post pictures of their bodies to show off how skinny they are with those showing the most ribs and hip bones getting the most compliments and admiration.

With most pro anorexia websites idolising the figures of super skinny glamorous celebrities such as Kate Moss, Angelina Jolie and Mary Kate Olsen, they do not seem to acknowledge the serious health implications that can be caused by starving the body. Health complications can include weak bones (sometimes leading to Osteoporosis), heart problems (can cause cardiac arrests), fatigue, stomach cramps, kidney stones, infertility, seizures, yellow blotchy skin, brittle nails and breathing problems.

Professor Schmidt, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Eating Disorders Section, said: “Pro-ana and pro-mia websites advocate anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa as a lifestyle choice, rather than as serious mental disorders. The broader societal context in which pro-ana and pro-mia sites thrive is one where young women are constantly bombarded with toxic images of supposed female perfection that are impossible to achieve, make women feel bad about themselves and significantly increase their risk of eating disorders.”