Is It Easy To Identify Pro-ana Websites Today?

Nowadays, with the general outcry against pro-ana websites, many of them have shut down, while many others have gone underground, deep into cyberspace. This has made these websites harder to identify on the Internet.

In addition, many users of these sites have started using codenames to refer to anorexia and bulimia; they do not refer to them by their original names. For instance, anorexia is referred to simply as Ana, while bulimia is called Bella or Mia.

At a more complex level, diehard anorexic websites have started operating covertly, and form what is now known as the anorexic underground, an underground community of anorexics. Members of this community often use different forms of signage to identify themselves. The most common such instance is the use of color-coded bracelets. A bracelet of a specific color refers to a specific disorder.

While these colors may vary within individual user groups, generally the color red is associated with anorexia, while blue is associated with bulimia. Green is the color opted for by binge eating patients, while pink is the color of choice for EDNOS patients.