Diagnosis: “Wannarexia”

“However, there are those who adopt extreme thinness as a lifestyle choice. Such people – aspiring anorexics, or “wannarexics” – are more representative of what you may be seeing in your daughter. Wannarexics imitate the behaviour of those with eating disorders so as to be, for example, a size zero. They are generally underweight but are not anorexic, as their behaviours are not as extreme.”

“Wannarexia comes from wanting to fit in. Girls as young as 5 identify greater weight with lesser popularity; they want to be Barbie. Pre-teens learn that not eating is a sign of a strong will, and size zero is their goal.”

— Times Online

I hate seeing made-up pro-anorexia lingo being used in real publications. “Wannarexia” is not a real disorder. It’s not a real anything.

Wannarexia makes anorexia sound like a choice, and there is plenty of literature out there to prove that it is in fact an illness. Eating disorders are biologically based. They are also not about some quest to be “a size zero.” And, the “they want to be Barbie” comment–seriously? I mean, maybe giving Barbies to little kids does promote an unhealthy models of the female body that sticks with them and influences their perception of “beauty” as they get older… but lots of kids play with Barbies and turn out okay.

If someone is a “wannarexic,” that means they already have a problem. They have disordered eating–at least. Maybe they are “generally underweight but are not anorexic,” just because they haven’t hit that stage in their illness yet. You have to start somewhere, you know… you don’t go from healthy to anorexic overnight.

If you are healthy, you don’t want to be anorexic. Maybe you want to be thin, but you don’t want to starve yourself and you don’t want to be severely underweight.

This pro-anorexia term really minimizes the seriousness of the disorder and invalidates the struggle that individuals go to over come it. In this particular article, they are labeling a woman’s daughter with wannarexia. Poor daughter! If you are struggling with eating, body image, weight, self-esteem, depression, and whatever else, the worst thing that someone could tell you is, “You don’t have a real issue — you just WISH that you had one. You’re a wanna-be.” How invalidating and thoughtless and demeaning.

Diagnosis: "Wannarexia"

“However, there are those who adopt extreme thinness as a lifestyle choice. Such people – aspiring anorexics, or “wannarexics” – are more representative of what you may be seeing in your daughter. Wannarexics imitate the behaviour of those with eating disorders so as to be, for example, a size zero. They are generally underweight but are not anorexic, as their behaviours are not as extreme.”

“Wannarexia comes from wanting to fit in. Girls as young as 5 identify greater weight with lesser popularity; they want to be Barbie. Pre-teens learn that not eating is a sign of a strong will, and size zero is their goal.”

— Times Online

I hate seeing made-up pro-anorexia lingo being used in real publications. “Wannarexia” is not a real disorder. It’s not a real anything.

Wannarexia makes anorexia sound like a choice, and there is plenty of literature out there to prove that it is in fact an illness. Eating disorders are biologically based. They are also not about some quest to be “a size zero.” And, the “they want to be Barbie” comment–seriously? I mean, maybe giving Barbies to little kids does promote an unhealthy models of the female body that sticks with them and influences their perception of “beauty” as they get older… but lots of kids play with Barbies and turn out okay.

If someone is a “wannarexic,” that means they already have a problem. They have disordered eating–at least. Maybe they are “generally underweight but are not anorexic,” just because they haven’t hit that stage in their illness yet. You have to start somewhere, you know… you don’t go from healthy to anorexic overnight.

If you are healthy, you don’t want to be anorexic. Maybe you want to be thin, but you don’t want to starve yourself and you don’t want to be severely underweight.

This pro-anorexia term really minimizes the seriousness of the disorder and invalidates the struggle that individuals go to over come it. In this particular article, they are labeling a woman’s daughter with wannarexia. Poor daughter! If you are struggling with eating, body image, weight, self-esteem, depression, and whatever else, the worst thing that someone could tell you is, “You don’t have a real issue — you just WISH that you had one. You’re a wanna-be.” How invalidating and thoughtless and demeaning.