Is MFP a breeding gound for eating disorders

So... by that logic... is babycenter.com where people go to GET pregnant? a LITERAL breeding ground?


NO

People who struggle with their food, look for tools to help them get over that struggle. This is a tool that is very useful in doing just that.

This is one of those which came first--the chicken or the egg things.
Calorie counting/diet/lifestyle forums or sites would probably attract more of those who have disordered eating, are prone to such, or are struggling to recover from an ED as well as people who do not and are just making a lifestyle change. SO...that being said, I would be hard pressed to say that a forum such as this would cause an ED. The problem is ALREADY there for some, and for those people going on a forum such as this where there will be discussion of calorie counting etc simply adds fuel to an already lit fire.

I once had an eating disorder. It is a mental illness. It took years to recover. I now have a healthier relationship with food and with myself. Anorexia isn't truly about food. For me it was about punishment and control and low self esteem and depression. For others it may be different. But the anorexia was a symptom of bigger things going on. Anything in excess is unhealthy.

Spot. On.

It's drives me nuts when people say that a tool, or a magazine, creates an eating disorder. That notion reduces the very complex nature of eating disorders and the reasons behind them that make it so difficult to recover.

It made my eating disorder SO much worse. But it's different for everyone.

Because you already had a pre-existing problem prior to using the site. The site just made it easier for you to exercise the problem.

I do not think MFP is a breeding ground. Like most have pointed out, if it's there chances are someone will use it for something other than what it was designed for. It definitely would be sad if someone were using it for that reason - if you notice it perhaps mention that it's not healthy, but you should be more concerned about your own journey and getting where you need to be.

For those that have mentioned that it helped them overcome their ED - AWESOME JOB!! This is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud of yourselves.

MFP as calorie counting tool can be used in healthy ways and in unhealthy ways. The social side of the site allows for these people to find each other and potentially create small communities of people promoting EDs, but that can be found on nearly every eating disorder forum or help site. I've seen it go both ways, but the tendencies of obsessing over weight and food were there long before MFP was introduced into an individual's life. Or the tendencies, like orthorexia, have developed because of misconception about nutrition and food, NOT because of the calorie counting tool that MFP is.

Again, as someone else said, a good majority of eating disorders are not actually about the food, but another underlying issue. Unfortunately, once things like binge and purge/restrict cycles start, they spiral out of control very quickly so what may have been a coping mechanism initially becomes ingrained into a person and it becomes a difficult habit for someone to break.

I am an example of a person with an eating disorder who has been helped greatly by the site, both the calorie counting side and the social/support side. People will find ways to manipulate things to fit their intentions, whether they are healthy or unhealthy.

MFP does not create eating disorders. Eating disorders are, in most cases, simply another manifestation of a deeper personality disorder a person has been struggling with for years that causes them to use forms of self harm in order to make themselves feel in control when life circumstances or situations make them feel out of control.

I didn't say that eating disorders are promoted I said that the tools used to lose weight could be used wrongly by people with eating disorders. I actually said that MFP promotes heathly eating, please re-read my post. FYI the only edit was to change an 'a' to an 'are'.

Perhaps your title needs better editing too. Suggesting something is a "breeding ground" places it squarely in the adding-to-the-problem category. You did also list the ways it attempts to help rather that hurt but that semantically works about as well as that lame old joke about eating pasta and anti pasta together somehow cancels each other out. Your suggestion it gives birth to eating disorders remains nonetheless.

Mfp is a tool. It is up to the user to determine how it is used.

Eat disorder that makes you SKINNY is BAD

Eating disorder that makes you fat is " ah they have been thru a lot, and sure they are trying "

Id say more people die each year and there are more health problems relating too the later

Really annoys me, and I am a fatty, actually clinically obese at one stage, it was a hole problem

The one in my face was bigger than the one in my *kitten*