World Wide Web Reviews:

Eating Disorders on the Web

by Lucy Serpell

[Eds. note: This ongoing new feature in Feminist Collections suggests and evaluates key websites on particular topics.]

Key Websites mentioned:

Lucy Serpell's Eating/Eating Disorders Resources. [Editors note: new URL: http://edr.org.uk/ , per email from Lucy Serpell, March 4, 2004]
Updated URL June 5, 2000: http://www.serpell.com/eat.html
Developed/maintained by: Lucy Serpell, l.serpell@iop.bpmf.ac.uk
Last updated: 29th January 1997 Reviewed: 13th March 1997

Something Fishy
URL: http://www.something-fishy.com/ed.htm
Developed/maintained by: Something Fishy
Last updated: ??

Cheryl Wildes' Anorexia Page
URL: http://www.neca.com/~cwildes/
Developed/maintained by: Cheryl Wildes
Last updated: ??

Harvard Pilgrim
URL: www.harvardpilgrim.org/html/clinpubs/xs-728.htm
Developed/maintained by: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Last updated: ??

A huge amount of information about eating disorders is available on the net. When I began compiling the Eating/Eating Disorders Resources page (see above) in September 1995, the site contained around ten links to other sites. Today, a simple search on the term "anorexia" using a search engine such as AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com) yields some 10,000 hits! However, as highlighted by James Rettig (jrrett@mail.swem.wm.edu) in his excellent article on the explosion in resources on the net (http://www.swem.wm.edu/firehose.html), much of this information is of dubious worth. Information quality is of particular importance in an area such as the eating disorders, where many searchers will be looking for information of personal significance. This review, however, will be aimed principally at the researcher or student seeking information on eating disorders. It is important to accept that the Web is unlikely to meet all your research needs. It will almost inevitably be necessary to turn to other media at some stage; in particular, academic journal articles in this area are rarely available online, so a visit to the library will be essential at some point.

Websites do have certain advantages over traditional media. Specifically, sites such as Something Fishy and Cheryl Wilde's (see above) page include excellent personal accounts of what it is like to suffer from an eating disorder, viewpoints that can be hard to find elsewhere and offer a refreshing touch of reality for the researcher surrounded by dry-as-dust academic journal articles. Another advantage of the Web is its ability to provide extremely up-to-date information, without the long lag times involved in paper publication. An example is the recent appearance of several sites dealing with "Binge Eating Disorder" (also known as Compulsive Eating or Compulsive Overeating), a disorder only recently officially recognized by inclusion in DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases, version 4. The American Dietetic Association website offers some basic diagnostic criterial [http://www.eatright.org/eatingdisorders.html]), the Bristol Hospital has a great introduction to Binge Eating Disorder (http://www.bristolhospital.org/eating.html), and new sites are appearing daily.

The view that large organizations with financial resources necessarily produce the best websites is challenged by comparing the Harvard Pilgrim site (see above) with excellent sites like Something Fishy. Harvard Pilgrim is a managed healthcare firm and, as such, might be expected to do better. The site is poorly laid out and full of misprints. There is no author attribution on any page, hence it is difficult to know who to notify about problems or corrections. Something Fishy's site, however, is a well laid-out, informative, and friendly site that has evolved from a single page to a whole site full of information of all types, from support groups online to some extremely welcome ideas on eating disorders prevention. Cheryl Wildes' site, written by a woman whose sister has suffered from anorexia for several years, is an excellent resource aimed mainly at sufferers and their families and friends. However, the site is worth visiting by the researcher for its book list and information on many U.S.-based eating disorder organizations and clinics. Around eighty-five percent of websites (in all subjects) are written in English, and a majority are U.S.-centric. It is great to see a few exceptions to these generalizations, such as the websites for national ED organizations springing up all over the world, in Italy (http://www.vol.it/IT/IT/ASSOC/ABA/index.htm), South Africa (http://minnie.iafrica.com:/~ronhey/index.html) and Norway ), to name just three. A good place to find other non-English sites is Cath's page (http://www.stud.unit.no/studorg/ikstrh/ed/ed.html), based in Norway. NOAH (New York Online Access to Health) maintains pages on both anorexia and bulimia with versions in both English (http://noah.cuny.edu/illness/mentalhealth/cornell/conditions/anorexia.html or substitute bulimia for anorexia) and Spanish (http://noah.cuny.edu/sp/illness/mentalhealth/cornell/conditions/spanorexia.html or substitute spbulimia for spanorexia). As the Web expands, more and more unscrupulous people are out to make money from it. There are some excellent commercial sites, but as a general rule, it is best to evaluate critically any site trying to sell you something, especially diet products. As a refreshing antidote to all that diet advertising, have a look at the Beyond Dieting site (http://www.beyonddieting.com/), which is concerned with alternatives to dieting.

On a related note, a growing number of sites (and a listserv: soc.support.fat-acceptance) exist to promote fat acceptance. Have a look at the NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) site (http://www.naafa.org/) and the excellent FaTGiRL (http://www.fatgirl.com/fatgirl/), a witty and informative net-based magazine aimed at fat lesbians and their partners, but worth reading by anyone who'd like an alternative perspective on what it is to be fat. Especially recommended is the excellent newswatch page (http://www.fatso.com/fatgirl/fatwatch.html).

Of course, the pages mentioned are only a tiny selection of what is available. New resources are springing up all the time, while other sites may change beyond recognition overnight, or disappear altogether. However, whether you are a student looking for introductory information for a project, or an experienced researcher in the area wanting to keep your finger on the pulse, the Web will almost certainly provide something to interest and inspire you.

[Lucy Serpell is a research assistant and doctoral student at the Eating Disorders Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London.]