Is MFP a breeding gound for eating disorders
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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.
If everyone had a healthy relationship with food there wouldn't be a need for MFP.0 -
MFP is a tool. It's method of use is in the hands of the user. So the onus is on them. If they have an ED, it's up to them to not abuse it. Or up to them to heal themselves. Control can be good or bad. YMMV.0
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I didn't realise there were that many but then again it wouldn't surprise me. As odd as it sounds the first time I heard about MFP was in a magazine article about a girl saying it made her anorexic lol. Fortunately most people I have came across are people who are looking to lose weight, but I think that's because I've been looking for them *so not a stalker face*
It's sad to hear MFP is a tool they can use to feed off their condition but the underlying issue probably still would have been there without MFP0 -
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.
If everyone had a healthy relationship with food there wouldn't be a need for MFP.
True dat.
My issue was already solved when I came back here, but it helps to avoid portion-creep.0 -
Everyone needs therapy.0
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I firmly believe people who end up with eating disorders, will find a trigger in just about anything you place in front of them, just like someone can find something offensive in anything you say or do. If you look hard enough nothing is "safe."
If it does in fact push people into an eating disorder, not only were they probably going to end up with one without mfp, but I'm fairly confident in saying it helps a few dozen more people for every 1 person it hurts.0 -
People who restrict calories are going to count them and restrict them regardless. If they weren't using mfp, they'd be using a calculator. MFP doesn't create their disorder.
Also, some of us use this site for keeping track of macros, not calories. (for those who believe that all mfp users have unhealthy relationships with food.)0 -
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?
I have to agree with you. 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.0 -
No. However, it might be a magnet for them.
MFP is a breeding ground for mean people, torso avi's, and bacon.0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
It made my eating disorder SO much worse. But it's different for everyone.0
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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.0 -
I have an eating disorder and I use this site. It helps me control it to an extent. When I want to go on a binge I look at my diary, at the little numbers turning red on the bottom when I try to squeeze more stuff in. I have to think about the mindless eating I'm about to do and I change focus to trying to stay on track.
I haven't binged once since joining MFP back in August. My therapist is very proud when we go over my food diary.
That's wonderful, congratulations.
And I feel like you have to have strong tendencies to ED's for this site to trigger anything.
Eating too few calories, etc., can also come from ignorance. I think a lot of people start off eating way too low, scared they'll get fat or not lose if they eat over 1200 calories. But if they stick around, they'll learn that that isn't true, and it IS ok to bump up calories, and that you can still lose weight. I fall into the second category
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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.0 -
I would agree that if you have a propensity toward it, you can go over the edge. I use this site as a gauge for not really calories is general, but watching specifically sugar, sodium intake and whether my protein is where it needs to be. I rarely ever put in my excercise. I only recently started looking at some of the posts and chats. I have seen a lot of false information, rampant myths and only disturbing things posted on here. I think for the most part there are far better forums out there. I use another one. I think this site puts to much focus on black and white listing of calories. I'm not sure how in tune people are with overall health. It is sad to see people get themselves into a cycle like that.0
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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.0 -
I think this site actually does more to help people have a healthy relationship with food, have moderation instead of excessive restrictions, to realize they can eat more, to find effective and efficient fitness strategies, and to set and reach realistic goals.0
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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.0 -
no, i doubt it
People have eating disorders long before they come here
Eating disorders all too fat people as well right?0 -
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.0 -
Yes, fat people have eating disorders, too.no, i doubt it
People have eating disorders long before they come here
Eating disorders all too fat people as well right?
Some EDs make you skinny. Some EDs make you fat.
I think there are a lot of fat people who have eating disorders that don't even know they have one.0 -
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.0
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My goal is to have a healthy relationship with food. I do see where this site can, for those that are prone, to become obsessive about food; simply going from binging to meticulously examining every morsel before they consume. Logging makes me more aware-keeps me from consuming an entire bucket of chicken, makes me feel rewarded for physical activity-this I like. I however draw the line at weighing everything. I think this practice is obsessive and downright creepy. I do not think it helps me eat to live instead of live to eat, and will not engage in the activity. I hope those with ED get the help they need.0
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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.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'.0 -
Gives this post a standing ovation for the bullseye it is. Had the OP understood it as a mental illness, perhaps the thread title and original post would have been different.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.0 -
Mfp is a tool. It is up to the user to determine how it is used.0
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We should all be protected from nutritional information because looking at it may cause all sorts of eating disorders...?0
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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*0 -
Does watching a horror movie make you go kill people?
Does drinking alcohol make you an alcoholic?
Does eating sugar make you a sugar addict? *ducks*
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: good one0
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