Zavaroni’s family calls for a ban on pro-anorexia websites

‘Glorifying being thin should be a criminal offence’

The family of tragic anorexia victim Lena Zavaroni have called for a French-style ban on websites glorifying the killer condition.

Child star Lena died aged just 34 because of health complications caused by anorexia in 1999.

Now 16 years after her death websites promoting anorexia have become such a concern that they are facing a ban under French law.

Last night Lena’s cousin Margaret Zavaroni, 62, said Britain should follow suit.

She said: “These sites are encouraging the young ones to stop eating. They should absolutely be stopped.

“The problem with anorexia is that nobody can cure it but yourself and these sites make that very difficult.”

Lena died well before the age of children being able to easily access worrying images on their mobile phones.

At age 10, she won Opportunity Knocks going on to win it an unprecedented five times later performing with stars such as Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand.

But Margaret, of Rothesay, Isle of Bute, said her cousin struggled with fame and was affected deeply by images in the newspapers and on TV.

She added: “The young ones now have got to think of their families; the sisters, the mums and dads and the grannies and granddads how much their anorexia affects them.

“I know from experience how this hit my cousin Lena’s father. The poor man is still devastated at losing his daughter.”

Disturbing images of stick-thin models and tips on anorexia are plastered all over the internet, and across social media sites such as Pinterest, a network popular in schools.

Nearly two years after Pinterest said it would ban pro-anorexia material, we found pages of posts, including one titled “7 quick anorexia diet tips.”

Others carried so-called motivational slogans such as “waking up thinner is worth going to bed hungry”.

One anorexia expert said some of his patients had confessed to viewing this kind of material when they were as young as 12.

“Many young people and eating disorder sufferers do explore these sites,” said Dr Alex Yellowlees, a consultant psychiatrist at the Priory hospital group in Glasgow. Personally I only see over 16-year-olds but they talk about accessing these sites when they were pre-teens.

“It is very destructive and damaging for young people to be exposed to social media sites which allow or encourage eating disorder thinking and behaviours.”

He described France’s new policy of criminalising the glorification of anorexia or excessive “skinniness” as a “very good idea”.

Those who run so-called “pro-ana” or “thinspiration” websites risk a maximum £7,344 fine after an amendment was passed earlier this month.

Dr Yellowlees said: “Society needs to reform its ideal body image which for years now has idealised slimness, thinness and even emaciation in models.”

However, Mary George, a spokesman for UK eating disorder charity Beat, said it would be a “drastic measure” to follow France’s lead.

She said: “The majority of these sites are run by individuals who are ill and criminalising them would not be the answer. We know that many people who visit pro recovery sites, such as Beat’s, also visit the pro-ana sites where they feel they are understood.”

Pinterest’s acceptable use policy bans promoting eating disorders and self-harm. The company had worked with the National Eating Disorders Association in the US to develop a list of search topics about anorexia.

Searches for these terms prompt a warning displayed on the user’s screen, which includes a charity number to call.