Is MFP a breeding gound for eating disorders

Every day there is a least one post from someone who is struggling with their relationship with food.

I know that mfp 'promotes' healthly eating [&] that posts which promote unhealthy eating are banned but the tools that we all use here food diaries, progress charts, congratulating people on loses etc, could also be used as tools for people with eating disorders and it's really sad.

We are all struggling with our relationships with food.
The difference between me & someone who's anorexic is not the tools on MFP, it's something in that person's brain that's gone haywire.

Tools can be used for good or bad; the decision is made by the person using it.
I can use a pistol to stop someone from killing me, or a criminal can use a pistol to murder children at a school.

And no, they do not ban posts which promote unhealthy eating. There's a group dedicated to promoting binge eating, and that's allowed to exist.

This is silly. Tracking cals and macros and burns don't create eating disorders... mental health issues do.

Every day there is a least one post from someone who is struggling with their relationship with food.

I know that mfp 'promotes' healthly eating [&] that posts which promote unhealthy eating are banned but the tools that we all use here food diaries, progress charts, congratulating people on loses etc, could also be used as tools for people with eating disorders and it's really sad.

We are all struggling with our relationships with food.
The difference between me & someone who's anorexic is not the tools on MFP, it's something in that person's brain that's gone haywire.

Tools can be used for good or bad; the decision is made by the person using it.
I can use a pistol to stop someone from killing me, or a criminal can use a pistol to murder children at a school.

And no, they do not ban posts which promote unhealthy eating. There's a group dedicated to promoting binge eating, and that's allowed to exist.

Very well put. This is exactly what I meant about mental illness: there is something in the individual's brain that is different (lots of interesting research on the brains of those with Anorexia Nervosa and how they respond very differently to calorie restriction when compared to those without AN, for instance).

I had no idea there was a group promoting binge eating. Binge eating is such a painful way to deal with life (been there). It makes me sad to know that it is being promoted.

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Every day there is a least one post from someone who is struggling with their relationship with food.

I know that mfp 'promotes' healthly eating that posts which promote unhealthy eating are banned but the tools that we all use here food diaries, progress charts, congratulating people on loses etc, could also be used as tools for people with eating disorders and it's really sad.

Not all talk of eating disorders is banned, just the ones that make you skinny.

People whose EDs make them fat can talk all day long about how they weigh 225 and ate 6,000 calories that day and the post will be met with sympathetic advice. Say, "I'm an emotional eater" and you'll get a bunch of Me Toos. Say, "I had a bad day and ate double my allotted calories and you'll hear, "Oh, you poor thing. Life happens." But say that you never break 1.000 and watch the crap hit the fan.

It's only the people whose unhealthy relationship with food makes them skinny that can't discuss it. If your ED makes you fat, you're good to go.

You can encourage others to have an Overeat Day, to ignore sodium levels until they develop a cardiovascular problem, to eat junk food...you can encourage any unhealthy thing you like, as long as it isn't under-eating.

Adding: I do not believe that MFP made anyone fat or will make anyone too skinny. If someone uses the boards to console themselves about their overeating or uses the calorie counter to make sure they don't go over 300 calories today, that is their own issue and not MFP's fault.

There are a lot of adults willing to give out exaggerated info ("1200 is dangerous!" "Not eating back is dangerous!"), thinking it'll fend off ED in others somehow. Or maybe they really believe that moderate-deep calorie deficits cause ED.

Unless someone is very short (so that 120 is a healthy weight) 1200 is not a reasonable calorie goal.
In fact, health professionals & researchers have said it's the minimum an average-size adult should eat unless under the supervision of a doctor (VLCD).

(For example, in the 2010 dietary guidelines for Americans, they list 1200 cal as adequate for a 3-4 year old child.)
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf

How about people who delete others with ED on MFP? Nice support and motivation right

I had friended someone whom I thought wanted support in healthy weight loss, only to find she persisted in her extreme calorie deprivation, even ended up in the hospital, but wouldn't take advice (which was backed by references & links to reputable research & web sites, not just my opinion), so I unfriended her.
I don't need the drama.






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I don't think it breeds it. Actually in the posts where it seems that the writer is struggled with an eating disorder fellow members have been there to support and encourage the need for help with what they are going through.

Unless someone is very short (so that 120 is a healthy weight) 1200 is not a reasonable calorie goal.

Except they say this to people who ARE that short. I'm 5'3". I'm regularly quite full on about 1,000-1,200 calories (I have days that are exceptions). 120 is a perfectly reasonable weight for me.

Most long-time members would tell me I'm not eating enough.

(For example, in the 2010 dietary guidelines for Americans, they list 1200 cal as adequate for a 3-4 year old child.)
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf



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You do realize that the calorie recommendation for a 3-4 year old child has very little to do with their height and weight and a lot more to do with the fact that they are constantly growing, and it takes a lot of energy for the body to build itself up at such a pace.

I eat around 1100 -1400 (recently, closer to 1200) and my strength is increasing. I'm not losing muscle (at least not enough to prevent my gains in strength, if any loss is occurring at all). I am significantly stronger than I was before. Though, I am working on building different, much smaller muscles than those worked in standard lifting sessions (I do pilates, and believe me, this is the strongest and most flexible I have ever been, and I used to lift weights aka different strokes for different folks). Granted, I eat mostly nutrient-rich foods and get a decent amount of protein everyday. But, I'm not saying what works for me will work for others. Not at all. One size never truly fits all.

Any program that deals with food ideals, preferences etc are a breading ground for people that already have a poor relationship with food, whether any of these initially promote an eating disorder, I would imagine it's possible. For example over 50% who have a verified eating disorder have at one time or another considered themselves vegan, but veganism is not to blame anymore than MFP is.

There are a lot of adults willing to give out exaggerated info ("1200 is dangerous!" "Not eating back is dangerous!"), thinking it'll fend off ED in others somehow. Or maybe they really believe that moderate-deep calorie deficits cause ED.

Unless someone is very short (so that 120 is a healthy weight) 1200 is not a reasonable calorie goal.
In fact, health professionals & researchers have said it's the minimum an average-size adult should eat unless under the supervision of a doctor (VLCD).

(For example, in the 2010 dietary guidelines for Americans, they list 1200 cal as adequate for a 3-4 year old child.)
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf

I don't want to hijack the thread so please read the links and info in my profile and provide your own as a counterargument and I'll include them in my profile, too. The 112 page pdf you linked doesn't seem to mention 1200 at all, and I don't think the calorie requirement of a growing child is at all pertinent to the needs of a shrinking adult.

Every day there is a least one post from someone who is struggling with their relationship with food.

I know that mfp 'promotes' healthly eating that posts which promote unhealthy eating a banned but the tools that we all use here food diaries, progress charts, congratulating people on loses etc, could also be used as tools for people with eating disorders and it's really sad.

That's an awful thing to say, being aware of nutrition/calories and logging it does not cause eating disorders. The same way eating everyday doesn't encourage you to become fat.There are a lot of healthy resources here, just because some people uses them to facillitate their ED's does not make it a 'breeding ground for eating disorders'

Eating disorders are a mental health condition, does watching sad movies cause clinical depression?

+1

This is excellent.

It can be, yes. It has the potential to create an obsession with calories and food intake. There are lots of people on here who have eating disorders that are fueled by the sense of control the site offers. I'm not bashing the site, but it's an unfortunate reality.

Edit: That being said, MFP seems to make an effort at closing accounts because of this.

It can be, yes. It has the potential to create an obsession with calories and food intake. There are lots of people on here who have eating disorders that are fueled by the sense of control the site offers. I'm not bashing the site, but it's an unfortunate reality.

Edit: That being said, MFP seems to make an effort at closing accounts because of this.

But that doesn't mean it's a breeding ground. Breeding ground implies causation. Eating disorders are mental health disorders that will exist with or without MFP.

But, yes, the site does provide a tool to exercise the control disorder.

ED's have been around for longer than the internets have been around so I don't get how one would blame a tool like this, or blame chat rooms when ED's are a mental disease. I had friends who battled ED's when we were in junior high nearly 20 years ago, and they didn't get have them because they were logging foods on MFP or hanging out in pro-ana chat rooms.