While the prevalence of pro-eating disorder websites is nothing new, their existence has become more accepted, more respected, and easier to access via popular social networking sites. Though online forums, like Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and LiveJounal.com, have rules against displaying harmful material, pro-anorexia groups and pages are readily available on their sites

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, yet pro-anorexia (pro-ana) and pro-bulimia (pro-mia) groups exchange tips on how to override hunger in pursuit of a state of emaciation. The groups also post "thinspiration" pictures of underweight women whose body types they seek to emulate, and "war stories" on how sick they have been

"Rather than censor these groups, we are working to create partnerships with organizations that provide resources and advice to people suffering from such problems, and we will target those groups with messages of support," a MySpace spokesperson told the BBC