Melissa Cox first heard about pro-ana Web sites while her mother was watching Oprah.

"I had never met anyone with an eating disorder before," she says, "so I kind of felt like I found somewhere where I would be understood."

At the time, she was a teenager struggling with anorexia. At one point, the 5-foot-7-inch Cox weighed a mere 78 pounds.

Cox used pro-ana sites regularly, and she says she became almost addicted to them. Then, when she was 17, she had a heart attack as a result of her illness. That started a slow but successful journey toward recovery.

Part of that process was starting a Web site, Ana Death, to help anorexic sufferers recover. Cox's site mimics the style of "thinspiration" sites — where people who choose to be anorexic post tips on controlling eating — to communicate her healthy message.

Cox has posted pictures of herself when she was incredibly thin. She says she worries at times that they might motivate visitors to starve themselves. But she also includes accounts of how physically devastating her eating disorder was to demonstrate how dangerous anorexia can be. "All I can do is put my experience out there," Cox says, "and hope it's being helpful."

There are similar sites beginning to make an impact. But it could be a long haul.

Source-Medindia
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