Anorexia nervosa, or simply anorexia, is a psychiatric and physical illness in which the sufferer basically starves herself. Clinically, a person is anorexic if she has 85 percent or less of the normal body weight for someone of her age and height, yet continues to fast or diet. An estimated one percent of teenage girls and women in their twenties have the disease. It's a serious condition that can cause grave health problems if untreated. Most of us have heard at least one story of an emaciated teenage girl who starves herself because she's convinced she's fat. But despite anorexia's TV-talk-show familiarity, misconceptions about it abound. As a result, many sufferers can often go months or even years before someone notices that they're sick and steers them toward help. The nature of the disease is such that an anorexic person can almost never bring herself to consciously acknowledge that she's ill. This is why it's important for family, friends, and health care providers to be aware of the symptoms and offer aid. Although no one knows exactly why some people develop eating disorders, research indicates that it's probably due to a combination of several factors. These include certain personality traits (among other things, anorexics tend to be perfectionists and to have low self-esteem) and the nature of the family and home environment (they frequently come from families that place a lot of emphasis on looks, demand perfection, or don't allow the expression of negative feelings like anger in the home). Societal forces, including the enormous pressure on women to be thin or even underweight, are also thought to play a role. Even though they might appear to be outgoing and happy, people with anorexia typically have low self-esteem. It's this that drives them to struggle toward perfection. They may feel powerless and unable to control their own lives, often because of family dynamics. A young person who doesn't have some control over her life, is discouraged from expressing anger or sadness, doesn't have the chance to set normal interpersonal boundaries, and is exposed to unrealistically high expectations is an environment that may contribute to the development of an eating disorder.

There are some pro-anorexic communities on the internet. I've visited a few to see what they're like...and the short answer to your question is no. The long answer: I understand that some individuals are tremendously insecure and want to feel better about their appearance, some may want to regain control over their lives, etc, but those are aspirations not principles, which are more like moral guidelines. Their principles say it's okay to destroy your body, to deprive yourself of what is necessary to survive, to either keep secrets from loved ones or to burden them with this problem, in order to achieve your goal. In the pro-anorexic communities (that I've visited), they carry this to the point where it's downright disgusting. They mock those with healthy weight and compete with one another to see who can throw up the most, whose bones jut out the most, etc (I'm not making this up).

I don't think starving oneself is good. However, I have to give anorexic people props for their motivation and willpower. Now if only they could channel those qualities in a non-destructive way.

They have will power beyond belief. Yes it's not healthy and it can kill you. I understand all that. But man if I had 1/2 that kind of dedication and motivation. Yes I know it’s unhealthy once again.