TY  - JOUR
AU  - Peebles, Rebecka
AU  - Wilson, Jenny L
AU  - Litt, Iris F
AU  - Hardy, Kristina K
AU  - Lock, James D
AU  - Mann, Julia R
AU  - Borzekowski, Dina LG
PY  - 2012
DA  - 2012/10/25
TI  - Disordered Eating in a Digital Age: Eating Behaviors, Health, and Quality of Life in Users of Websites With Pro-Eating Disorder Content
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e148
VL  - 14
IS  - 5
KW  - Eating disorder
KW  - social network
KW  - anorexia nervosa
KW  - bulimia nervosa
KW  - pro-eating disorder website
KW  - pro-anorexia website
KW  - pro-bulimia website
KW  - pro-ED
KW  - pro-ana
KW  - pro-mia
AB  - Background: Much concern has been raised over pro-eating disorder (pro-ED) website communities, but little quantitative research has been conducted on these websites and their users. Objective: To examine associations between levels of pro-ED website usage, disordered eating behaviors, and quality of life. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based survey of adult pro-ED website users. Main outcomes were Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Eating Disorder Quality of Life (EDQOL) scores. Results: We included responses from 1291 participants; 1254 (97.13%) participants were female. Participants had an average age of 22.0 years and a mean body mass index of 22.1 kg/m2; 24.83% (296/1192) were underweight; 20.89% (249/1192) were overweight or obese. Over 70% of participants had purged, binged, or used laxatives to control their weight; only 12.91% (163/1263) were in treatment. Mean EDE-Q scores were above the 90th percentile and mean EDQOL scores were in the severely impaired range. When compared with moderate and light usage, heavy pro-ED website usage was associated with higher EDE-Q global (4.89 vs 4.56 for medium and 4.0 for light usage, P < .001) and EDQOL total scores (1.64 vs 1.45 for medium and 1.25 for light usage, P < .001), and more extreme weight loss behaviors and harmful post-website usage activities. In a multivariate model, the level of pro-ED website usage remained a significant predictor of EDE-Q scores. Conclusions: Pro-ED website visitors reported many disordered eating behaviors, although few had been treated. Heavy users reported poorer quality of life and more disordered eating behaviors. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - http://www.jmir.org/2012/5/e148/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2023
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23099628
DO  - 10.2196/jmir.2023
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/jmir.2023
ER  -