As it turns out, "Anorex" and "Anorexia" actually come from the same word root (so "anorex" isn't really "short" for "anorexia"). Nonetheless, it's extremely irresponsible for a company to market a drug in such a way. Plus, they have other disturbing drugs for kids and for women who don't want to lose breast size while they're losing weight. Great! Nothing like perpetuating the potentially dangerous "thin is in" mindset.

Isn't it ironic that in a time when people are getting fatter and fatter that media is mostly concerned with 'thin' people? Obesity is becoming the number one health problem in the US and soon Europe too, but everyone fusses about anorexia. Thin is not "in", obesity is.

Some people are thin, and whenever shown on the telly or in a magazine there is great havoc. Newspapers and magazines worldwide became obsessed with e.g the weight of Calista Flockhart and everyone was worried. When will papers worry about fat people on the telly? "Is Roxanne getting diabetes?" "Will Marlon Brando's heart suddenly stop?" Won't happen, as you can't say such things about fat people in public.

Obesity is a medical problem. Obese people need to lose weight, and as "not eating" is not working maybe this drug can help. It is a medical problem and it needs medical solutions.

[Disclaimer: I don't know how good this product is or how serious the company is]

Tasteless. Yes obesity is a problem and this drug might help but a company naming a drug Anorex (no matter if it is short for Anorxia or not)...says something about the seriousness of a company.

Odegard

Thin is not "in", obesity is.

Not to be disrespectful, but what world do you live in? From my chair, overweight people face discrimination that thing people never would. When was the last time you heard someone tell a thin person that they were (automatically) "lazy" because of their weight alone? Or that they had no self control, regardless of whether their weight is a glanduar problem or not.

We all deserve to feel good about ourselves and products like the ones marketed by Klein-Becker serve only to make people feel like they're not worthy unless they fit an unrealistic ideal.

A plug for bigfatblog.com might be in order...

(Note that this is not to say that thin people don't have their own stereotypes to deal with, but our society is much more obsessed with becoming thin than becoming healthy.)

(The first line of that last post was supposed to be italicized...)

You know, I am all about tired of you people discriminating against lifestyles like Anorexia and failing to realize that it isn't a disease, It is a lifestyle that just so happens to affect the way that we anorexics look, and its the same thing for bulimia and oartharexia! It's not just: I'm fat, I wanna get skinny, get an eating disorder. We go through so many things to not get discriminated against for being fat only to get discriminated against when finally becoming thin? Is it impossible to please you people? We can be to fat we can't be too thin, we have to be "normal". However, everyone has a different defination of the word normal! Take a normal family for example: One child would think of a normal family as a family that has both parents a sister and a brother with a dog. Another child might think of a normal family as visiting their mom one weekend and visiting their dad the next week day!
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that Anorexia IS a lifestyle that you people refuse to accept because you are simply jealous! Jealous of the fact that we can control something that you never could, jealous because we're model thin and can get your boyfriend's attention! And you doctors can just kiss my ass!! You just want more patients so you can get more greens!! You are ruining our lifestyle for a peice of smelly green paper and leading people to believe that our lifestyle is something different! So dont give me that crap that you care or that eating disorders are hanious because it isnt half as hanious as you are! So just back off, ALL OF YOU!! And leave the diorderly community alone, the path we choose to take is our own to choose! Its our body and our lives! There are a lot of bumbs that choose to be bumbs and I don't see you trying to "cure" them!! So stay out of our business and when you come up with a better escuse as to why I shouldnt be pro anorexic or anorexic period for that matter-- then maybe i'll actually listen!!

I am so glad that someone took the responsibility to shut down websites supporting suicide... that is what Anorexia and Bulimia are... Atheist or Christian... it doesn't matter, we (eating-disordered people) have no right to destroy our bodies... whether it be because we our products of God's creation or just products of "mother-nature."

Quite simply, we are crying out for help... we want attention and have found no other way to get it. Our parents may not have known how to raise us the right way and our peers simply never knew that rejected us (for whatever reasons) was so hurtful. We finally turned our lives into a brutal POW camp and now can't find a way out. We long so much for attention and help that a website was our only hope for survival and immediate acceptance...

To all those who desire to help us Anorexics and Bulimics... treat the symptoms separate from us as persons... The symptoms are not our hearts and true souls... My biggestfear in getting help is that I will be mistaken for an eatingdisordered screw-up, not the true precious human being that I am...

Feel free to e-mail me or whatever with this comment...

Sarah May Linsenmeyer

Following those comments here concerning Anorex:

A Congressional committee is opening an investigation into the company making Anorex, for a different reason: targeting questionable diet drugs to children.
http://drugintel.com/news/a30403/commerce_energy_committee.htm

The company has been written up previously by DrugIntel concerning Anorex.

http://drugintel.com/news/a30127/anorex.htm

Any people who are interested in seeing action are urged to contact the Congressional Committee for Commerce and Energy.

Democratic staff responsible:
David Nelson
202 226 3400

Republican staff responsible:
202 225 2947

"So stay out of our business and when you come up with a better escuse as to why I shouldnt be pro anorexic or anorexic period for that matter-- then maybe i'll actually listen!!" -Natalie

You want a good reason to why you SHOULDN'T be anorexic? Because YOU DIE FROM IT, you moron.

I know what I'm talking about.

I am afflicted with a LIFESTYLE. Anorexia isn't fun. It isn't a choice. It's a disease.

What world do you live in Natalie?

In MY world we die from not eating. In my world it's not NORMAL to not want to eat.

What is normal? Eating is.

Like it or not, humans need food to survive and if you don't unbderstand that much than I sincerely pity you because you need help. And idf you don't realize that much, than you are in a much worse condition than I thought.

It took me a long time to realize that I was in trouble. I caught myself in time. I'm recovering. It's taking a long long time. I'm very thin still, and don't plan on gaining weight, but I am eating healthier, and I'm being followed by a whole array of doctors and psychologists.

This is what is going to help me to nopt kill myself by starvation.

Anorexia did this to me.

Now if you are ignorant enough to continue saying that it's not a disease, than so be it. Unfortunately there are a lot of stupid people in this world.

But if one day you realize that you're slowly dying, than I hope you'll still be in time to recover.

I know too many of my fellow hospital-mates when I was brought in that never had that chance.

I had always seen this product advertised in the US as Leptoprin. I never saw the name Anorex until I began researching the product. I haven't seen any advertising for this for kids. I've seen warnings on every web site selling it so far that it's not for children. "Leptoprin" is mainly used by the company selling it through a TV ad. The online stores are using Anorex. I never saw the word as being based on "anorexia," but I wouldn't be surprised if it had the same basic meaning. It seems to be based on the Greek word for appetite. Although not as well known, anorexia can also simply mean "loss of appetite." (Yes, I just looked it up. - www.m-w.com) You're assuming Anorex is short for Anorexia Nervosa which is what most people think of when they hear the word "anorexia." They don't think of "nervous anorexia" - which I guess could be thought of as a nervous loss of appetite. ...not eating because of anxieties possibly.

I support what Natalie has to say and agree with her 110%. So what if it kills you to be skinny? Have you realized that you can die from being to FAT too?! Personally, I'd rather pass on being light and pretty, rather than fat, disgusting, smelly, and lumpy. Being Anorexic is the best decision Ive ever made in my life... and if I die from it, ya know what, I dont give a shit. At least everyone can know that I died happy in my boney body. Death doesn't scare me. Death is what's next. I want to be happy while Im here and being skinny IS what makes me happy. It's the only thing that truly puts a smile on my face. You wanna know what scares me? Being fat. Id rather die from not eating, than die from eating too much... Quod me nutrit, me destruit.

I’m impressed with the postings above regarding anorexia as a lifestyle, not a disease. These women aren’t morons. They have intelligent and valid points.

Right now, some of you are calling me a moron, but hear me out.

Let’s explore anorexia as a lifestyle. We all want to be thin. We all want to feel that we have control over our lives. Not having control make us feel vulnerable/scared. Having control make us feel safe. Everyone will probably agree, when someone decides to stop eating it shows A LOT OF CONTROL- to actually stop eating. It sounds reasonable that being thin, and having that much control over yourself, would make you happy and confident. The pro anorexias do admit that you’ll die from it. But I completely agree that a short happy life is better then a long miserable one. It’s also true that being obese can kill you. So, if it’s a choice of a short anorexic life, a slightly longer obese life, or a long unhappy life. It seems the anorexic lifestyle is a reasonable option.

Now here are the questions to consider: Do you really FEEL thin? Do you REALLY feel in control? If so, can you eat a candy bar right now? (It would just take one candy bar to prove your control, and then you never have to again.) Can you eat it with out purging? Do you still feel like you are in control?

HERE IS THE TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR QUESTION: ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?

I hear it is possible to be happy without being perfect. I also hear that thoughts of food don’t have to consume so much of your time and energy. I find it hard to enjoy life when I’m spending most of my time fighting hunger cravings. In fact, I find that time to be very miserable. Yes, I feel proud and happy when I see that I’ve concord my hunger and lost more weight, but it is a very short lived feeling. I kind of like the special attention I get from time to time, but it’s tainted by guilt.

I realized that my “lifestyle” wasn’t working. About 6 months ago, I decided I was ready to explore some new avenues. (I should tell you, before I go on, that I was not in any immediate mortal danger.) I went to a therapist, and the first thing I told her was, “If you tell me I have to or should do anything, I won’t do it.” It surprised the hell out of me when she said ok, and she kept to her word. She has never told me I have to or should do anything. We hardly ever even talk about food. The most amazing thing is that this therapy is working. I am feeling better all the time, and I’m more successful at work and home. I am still struggling with a lot; I haven’t made a complete “lifestyle” change yet. I’m making small steps here and there. If anyone is interested, I highly recommend this therapy, actually I think it’s more specifically termed a form of psycho therapy, called I.F.S.

yes we all realise that thin may be more socially acceptable than fat... but.... i am living proof that you can be overweight, happy, self-loving and sexy as all getout. yes this really happens! not all fat people hate themselves!

aiya! i used to have bulemia as well as anorexia-nervosa, actually, so i know both sides to the fat/thin debate. i got super sick when i was 16 and snapped out of it. brushes with death will do that to a person. i'm overweight now but i'm... HAPPY! i love myself. i am a gooddess and frankly, to the kid who claims that being skinny= getting male attention..; ah. most of my friends are like size one and zero and i am a size 18 and i've ALWAYS gotten all the dates and flowers... and trips, and limosines, and five star resorts... surely it's not a weight thing honey because i am steaming sexy and i enjoy going out for a steak with good company :) it's about confidence and personality.

i know a lot of other gals with serious problems and i've never met anybody who self mutilates (starvation IS the same thing: it's just inside-out,) and can honestly say they love themselves. i was sure as hell miserable when i was skin and bones. you must be barking up the wrong tree.

i was just at a pool party in san fransisco and got caught (all 5'4", 200lbs of me!) sliding down the water slide by the multimillionaire owner of a biotech company and was called the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his entire life. there were probably twenty other bikini-clad women there with thin figures (and lovely model bodies i might add!) and none of them got the attention that i did in my little black whalesuit. hell i even got offered a trip to shanghai after i did a bellydance for the party. i can guarantee you that i had more fun, felt more carefree, and had more intelligent, sexy, well traveled, wealthy men on my heels than any of those poor little waifs picking at the veggie trays and then running to the potty to throw up later in the evening. so no more crap about thin girls getting all the lovin ok? girls can be phenominal or they can be a dime a dozen and weight has NOTHING to do with it.

if self mutilation is the only way you can feel in control, then maybe you should ask yourself why you felt out of control to begin with. there is nothing at ALL wrong with wanting to be healthy but as was admitted earlier, serious eating disorders are not health-oriented. if you must call it a lifestyle then please also admit that it is an abusive lifestyle that denies any real psychological progress. it is the same as beating your wife because you cant deal with anger, and it is the same as slicing your legs with kitchen knives because you are battling depression or some other trauma. it's the same as killing yourself on drugs because you cant handle your personal reality. i've seen all of these things and even been thru some of them and more and i promise in the end, problems dont get solved. nobody is happy or even just "okay."

it's interesting how such a silly post sparked such fervent conversation i might add!! bravo to the people fighting for sanity here

I read all the above comments about obesity and "thin is in" and anorexic lifestyles. I really feel sorry for all of you. It is not healthy to be too thin or too "fat." I am sorry but that is the scope of the situation. Americans in general eat more than they need. 73% of Americans are overweight. The only way to reduce weight to a reasonable level is to modify your eating habits and EXERCISE. I know what I am talking about because I have lost 85 pounds in three years. The difference in the way I feel is the only motivation I need to continue a healthy weight management plan. I would suggest that anyone with a eating disorder get counseling. I did. It works. However, you have to stop lying to yourself about eating disorders being a lifestyle choice. It is a defensive control habit that can kill you.

I have to say both sides of this debate are intriguing... I am debating on whether to take Leptoprin for my weight management (I'm about 25 pounds overweight)... I hear it only works if you're obese-why is that? Any response would be helpful, thanks.

I took Anorex and Leptoprin (both are the same drug essentially) for two months, and lost around 15 lbs. first month, and 8 lbs. the second. This was without diet or exercise, in fact the drug increased my appetite and I ate much more than I usually do in that period. This is probably due to the insulin response generated by the combination of caffeine and ephedra which brings on hunger for carbohydrates and sugar.

The only side-effects I had were in the first week, in which I was a bit nervous from the ephedra. That went away after the first week and I never experienced it again.

I think there is a flawed philosophy I've seen from several posters on this blog that promoting "being thin" or weightloss is some vast conspiracy to push a value set on the rest of us. The simple fact is that in a free market, what is valuable (i.e. what people want to see and buy) is what is sold. Fat people don't sell in certain roles, only thin people do. If there is a conspiracy, it is only to give the public what it wants. If you have a vald complaint against anyone for "perpetuating a stereotype", it should probably be the buying public, not the selling vendor. The seller doesn't *decide* what the buyer wants, he merely responds to it.

That being said, though there isn't a conspirancy to push weight loss and thin physiques on the public, there almost certainly *SHOULD* be. The 20th Century has been the century of increased carbohydrate and sugar consumption (again, as this is what the public wants and buys). Only 100 years ago, Americans ate at most ten lbs. of sugar a year, and that has increased over the years to almost 380 lbs., a 3800% increase. Obesity is the mark of all of this processed sugar/carbohydrate consumption, and as a result, most of the horrible illnesses that come from obesity have expanded from 1 in 20 to 1 in 2 -- such as heart disease, the leading killer, and diabetes, once a rare disease. There needs to be concerted push from some source (private sources being preferable) that obesity is not merely some kind of political issue (which is what many of you are making of it), it isn't an issue of discrimination (again, some of you are making that out of it), but is an issue of health. "Thin is in" is a great motto for this
necessary social revolution.

P.S. I think its ridiculous to state that a drug company must name its drug without the proper Latin or Greek medical root word simply because a valid medical condition exists which uses the same root. If that were the rule, there would be no standard for naming a particular drug or product brand that a drug company or medicine producer could follow.

Ohmygah girlfriend. "I'm so scared of being fat I will ruin my body so I can 'look good'..." Did anyone see Whitney Houston at the awards show for Michael Jackson in 2002??? Her bones poked out so profusely, even MICHAEL was worried about her. Yeah, that's about as sad as it freakin' gets.

I think the company has made a poor choice in its name, because regardless of the 'medical root' debate and yadda yadda blah blah, truth is, when I first looked at it, my brain went "oooh, where did their tact go?" I mean, seriously, it's like naming a cancer drug 'tumor away' or something. It's just too obvious for words.

My neurotic father once told me "a little anorexia never hurt anyone." He's deathly afraid of fat people because he used to be one. Sure, he's thin for a guy... but he's also a raging alcoholic and 35 year smoker. It's really all about choices. For some people, a piece of lettuce and a carrot is fun. For others, it's a big mac. Either way, you could die, either by cholesterol or by starvation which strips your cells and makes you lethargic and sickly looking. Me? I say, why 'not eat' which = low blood sugar which equals headaches, nausea, lethargy etc... just to be thin? Thin is no fun if you are too tired and sick to go anywhere or do anything with it. When I was anorexic, I looked like I died three weeks ago every day. IF someone wants to look that way just to be thin, it's their funeral and stupidity.

Meanwhile, a big 'you go girl!' to Callie Ann! It really IS all about personality. You can be thin all day long but if you are obsessed, then how can you have the time to do anything but think about thinness? I'm sure theres another point to life.

I'm happier now that I've got some junk in the trunk than I ever was when the trunk seemingly poked through the back of my levis and I could never sit on anyone's lap for fear of fatally impaling them.

Bottom line is, if a person wants to lose the weight, they will, FOR THEMSELVES. And no matter what, the answer won't be found in any bottle, no matter how tacky the name is. It's called exorcise and less donuts. Or, for others who can't control the urge to continue losing weight they DON'T EVEN HAVE, less exorcise and more donuts!

:p

<<<<<I think the company has made a poor choice in its name, because regardless of the 'medical root' debate and yadda yadda blah blah, truth is, when I first looked at it, my brain went "oooh, where did their tact go?" I mean, seriously, it's like naming a cancer drug 'tumor away' or something. It's just too obvious for words.>>>>>

Then you need to rise above your emotional condition, and think about the medical terms. Anorexic agents (a medical term for agents which cause weight loss and lowering of appetite) had that root long before there was a disease.

In any case, you'll be happy to know that the company in question is now marketing their drug as Leptoprin, rather than Anorex. Its still possible to buy old bottles of Anorex at a discount.

<<<<<I'm happier now that I've got some junk in the trunk than I ever was when the trunk seemingly poked through the back of my levis and I could never sit on anyone's lap for fear of fatally impaling them.>>>>>

Well I am glad for you. I went on the Atkins Diet, and I lost over 100 lbs. I feel so much better, and am thrilled to have lost the weight. In addition, all my lipids are down to normal levels. My cholesterol is cut by half from 306 to 139. My triglicerides are down to 1/4 what they were. My blood pressure is down to normal after being very high. My liver readings are down to normal. My blood sugar is at the lowest point in normal, when before my diet I was a borderline diabetic.

And that is what I mean by what I said -- health is a primary issue in this day and age. Thin needs to be in. Most of our health problems today are caused by being too fat, not too thin.

Get a Grip!
Who cares what it's called........It has helped me and I recommend it to all you "FAT IS IN People". You wouldn't even be on this site if you were not looking to loose weight.
I've lost 14 in one month and 30 to go.......I'll get there with the help of "ANOREX" hard work and proper diet.
Thank you ANOREX!
JR

The world is consumed by 'The Great Weight Debate'.
The only problem is, it's all black and white. Why do you have to choose between 'Fat' and 'Thin'? Take a look around you, are there only two kinds of people out there? No. There is a whole world of grey. That range is called "Normal Weight", and if the world would just give up their BMI's and calorie counts and bloody toxic diet pills (ephedra kills, you know that right?), forget about the magazines and Peoples "I lost 110 lbs and I feel great!!" stories, take a deep breath, relax, and LISTEN to what your body is telling you, the majority of us (excluding legitimate medical reasons) would fall naturally into that 'grey' area. Its so bloody simple it makes me want to cry, because very few people seem to be able to do it. Trust their bodies.
Take a look at all the fads that have come and gone in the past twenty years concerning dieting etc. They seem slightly crazy when you look back on them, right? Yet for some reason the 'new diets' are alright. Why?
Cabbage Soup diet; crazy. Totally unmanageable. Can't be healthy, that.
Atkins Diet; great! Its Lobster Feast with buttered everything every night -but stay away from those apples and whole grain cereals WHAT EVER YOU DO because it will make you fatfatfat.

Hmmmm.

I am 24 years old. I have had anorexia for a full half of my life. I can barely remember the last six years because at some point my body ate my memory. I cannot really ever SEE what I look like in the mirror. I never feel WORTH. I cannot sleep without nightmares. I HURT, all, the time.
But it's ok, because I'm thin.
And somewhere, on this planet, that makes someone else happy (because I sure ain't). So it's worth something?

I have a slightly overweight 12 yr old cousin, her mother has been worrying over her weight since the Dr. told her she was a healthy baby girl, 9 lbs, 1oz. She has now been put on a powerful diet drug. She isn't allowed to eat Pizza Pops like her older brother when she's hungry. She has water. She's 12.
Should she be worrying about this?
Should I?
Should YOU?

To all those people who have lost huge amounts of weight on drugs or with surgery, I offer my condolenses. You have probably done a great amount of harm to yourself with your 'good intentions'.

To all those people who are terrified to lose power over their own bodies - whether by gaining a bit of weight or allowing someone to challenge your control over yourself and your weight (erm, "lifestyle", sorry), not everyone is against you. Most people are just trying to help, because no matter how well you hide it, they can see that you're scared.

To all others obsessed with their weight (big or small) and everyone elses weight. Loosen up! Will you remember how much you weighted in your 31st year in September when you're 78 years old? Will it matter? The time you spent planning that meal could have been spent talking to an old friend on the phone. THAT, would have been remembered.

As for the drug companies: Who gives a shit!

Its 1:oo in the morning and I'm sitting at my computer looking for easy weight loss solutions. I'm not anorexic or bullimic, and yet, I think that this qualifies me for having and eating disorder. For some reason, however, I stumbled upon this debate instead of finding my "solution." You know what, this has helped me remember that it isn't worth it. Being obsessed with "thin" or "fat" isn't worth it. Being thin or overeating might make you happy in some ways, but not on a true meaningful level. I feel sorry for anyone out there, anyone like me, who has speant too much of his/her life worrying about something so unimportant. What is worth more, that we look back and think, "I was so thin," or that we look back and think, "I had a truely happy and wonderful life," ? I'm done with this thing, this thing that consumes you. I'm just done.

I'm reading this site because I saw the advertisements for Anorex. I was hoping the on-line infor would sound to "hoxy" to buy the product. I am overweight. I am also dying from taking Phen-Fen. I lost a pound a day taking them, it was great to see results like that! but I gained it back.I found out I have Primary Pulmonary Hipertention. There is no cure for this. I'm 34 and have two children I will never see get married. I have about two years left if I'm lucky.There's always a better way to loose weight than taking diet pills and they never work long term. The drug companys lie about everything and there side effects! DON'T TAKE THE RISK.

hey my name is Gina and im 16 years old I hate my weight I weigh 120 pounds. for the past 3 days I subsited only on water I wish that I could be skinny i'm not thin enough . Everytime I look in the mirror I see a fat girl looking back at me PLEASE HELP ME!!!! if anyone knows how I feel and/or knows what i'm going through, please respond A.S.A.P.

My older sister used to do things like throw up all the time. I can't even believe it. She told me once that she hated living with us because nobody listend to her. I was only 7 years old then and wasn't interested in something that i didn't understand. But that time i asked her if she wanted to still live with me. The next thing i knew was tht she was yelling that she didn't want to live with me the most. I couldn't stop crying. My older sister got more and more nervouse. She never talked to anyone. And noone even noticed that she was sliping awy from us.I would sometimes hear her cry at night. She was 16 years old then. And alot of people bother her that she was too fat. Then they syarted to tell her that she was to skinny.I was really dissapointed in everyone because of what they said to her.Then it all started one day. She woke up to go to school. I could see that something was wrong with her. She could hardly walk.I told mom. My mom ran up the steps to her room really fast. By that time she was on the floor. She was sleeping for 2 weeks. She is still recovering from everything. But i pray for her every day.

Whew, I stumbled upon this site and got caught up in the debate and I just want to say to Anne: THANK YOU!!! You are a voice of sanity and reason and intelligence in a debate that's just doomed to never go anywhere as long as there's this ugly divide between fat/thin. Have and have nots. Reminds me of the Sneetches and how it all got so confusing when the non-star-bellied Sneetches figured out a way to put stars on their bellies.

Anyway, thank you, Anne. People like you give me hope for humanity.

well, i guess you could say i'm an on-and-off ana. i currently weigh 114lbs and am 5'4", thanks to my "recovery". i have to say that weight doesn't affect your happiness at all. sure doesn't affect mine. I feel the same as i felt when i weighed 80, 90, 100 and 110lbs. it's simply a matter of choice. do you want to be fat and unhappy, healthy and unhappy or thin and unhappy? And i think, if i'm unhappy, it should bloody well show, so now i'm ana again just to look, well, unhappy. BOO-YAH

Wow, some of you people.....

I know it's been a while since anyone posted on this page, but I wanted to comment anyway. However, I am having a hard time deciding where to start!!!! First of all, I am 25, a nutritionist, cert. personal trainer, and I have a degree in exercise science with an emphasis in fitness. I spend a lot of time on my personal fitness, as well as helping others with theirs. I have known many people with various eating disorders (btw, there are way more eating disorders than you probably know about). I myself was an obese child, and weighed over 330 lbs. When I was told by my doctor that I needed to lose weight, and I did - 110 lbs in less than a year, with no drugs (herbal ephedra being the only relative exception) and have kept that weight off naturally for almost 5 years. I did it by dieting and exercising. Today I am 6'2", and around 210. That might sound like a lot, but I look much like a fitness model (10% body fat, 29 inch waist). I am very happy with the way I look. I wasn't happy with how I looked as a child. I don't think I had a problem when I was a child, just because I was uncomfortable being fat, and not being accepted by the more 'attractive', more popular children. That is exactly the way I should have felt, no matter if it was morally 'right' or 'wrong' for other children to have made me feel that way or not. See, that's the beauty of children, they don't know so much about social standards of behavior and "p.c.ness". All they know is that fat kids are unattractive and unacceptable.
It isn't healthy to be fat, and that is why it is socially (in general) not acceptable. Anthropological studies tell us that people are attracted to members of the opposite sex who are thin because this is the more healthy condition, and at some level you are programmed to 'know' that thinner people are healthier people and healthier people make more suitable mates. Thus, you want to have sex with those who are more fit.
Now, that may sound a little far fetched, maybe even crazy to those who don't study genetics, probably because I have presented it in very stripped down and basic terms. Trust me, I could elaborate for pages on end backed up by volumes of litigate published research.
I am simply trying to give you my opinion, based on what I have experienced and learned.
I'm not even going to start on the girls up top who are arguing that the "anorexic lifestyle" suits them fine, and claim they "like" being anorexic. I hope that every semi-educated person reading that crap shuddered at the stupidity of these posts as much as I did. I only hope the people typing that crap were joking. And if not, my prayers go out to them, if not for help, for a little common sense and awareness.
I must comment on Anne, the Brit/Aussi's posting. I liked it, in that she posted what seemed to be a very heart felt message on her opinion. Although I have this to say about some of her points:
A. Adkins diet works to help people lose weight, esp. people here in the US. We consume WAY too much sugar, and I can show you very compelling studies/reports/research that can link excessive sugar consumption to just about every leading killer (disease states) in the US (with the obvious exception of AIDS). Adkins teaches people that they don't need all that sugar/flour to get by. And FYI, Adkins encourages the consumption of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Adkins is NOT a zero carb diet plan. That said, I don't think people need to use the Adkins diet/lifestyle to live healthy lives as Dr. Adkins believed. However, if you think it is healthy to eat more than 100grams of simple carbohydrates a day, then you need to come see me, I might be able to save your life.
B. Ephedra does NOT kill people. I don't know where you are from, but here in the US we like to back up drug claims with something called research. Our government has NEVER found ephedra to be the sole cause of any deaths EVER (and our government regulatory committees set the president for the rest of the world). You might know that ephedra was banned here in the US back in early 2004. The reason for this is a ridiculous study presented to the FDA by some researcher at USC (I believe). His findings and report were absurd, claiming that in 2 studies relatively 1 in 10 participants died from taking ephedrine. Those findings are so outlandish that I can't believe he even published them. I can only assume he wanted to get the press for being the person who got ephedrine banned. Think for a moment: literally millions upon millions of Americans used ephedrine products throughout the 1990's. Had even 1/100 of them died, or had health complications there would have been 10s of thousands of deaths, causing an epidemic of "ephedrine deaths". Instead NO ONE died directly from the use of ephedrine!! And if you can find me a report of one legitimate death from the use of ephedra in a relatively healthy individual, I'll send you my degree in the mail!!!, and I'll spend the rest of my life working at a gas station or something. If someone had died from it, you better believe that the media and FDA would have jumped all over it asap. You may have heard of the pro-athletes that used the ephedrine supplements and died of heat exhaustion. They died of HEAT EXHAUSTION while practicing outside in the HEAT on extreme diets with underlying heart conditions!!! Scientifically speaking, their deaths prove absolutely nothing about ephedra, except maybe that it is ill-advised to dehydrate yourself, put on lots of clothes, work intensely in the intense heat, AND take ephedra while following an extreme diet with a heart condition. But, I think we already knew that. I don't want to spend the time to explain to anyone how the FDA and DEA go about their business, but trust me, the ban on ephedra had nothing to do with regard for public health.
And, just to put my opinion out there, I am glad ephedra was banned. It is a strong chemical similar to many other 'speed' drugs, and the general public can't be trusted to take those kinds of things in a healthy manner. But used properly, it is NOT dangerous.
C. The parent of an obese child should take great concern in the eating habits of their children. However, I realize this can be tricky. Depriving a child of pizza while an older sibling eats it in front of them; of course that is not right. But no child should be eating pizza on a regular basis, no adult either. Let them get their fill at birthday parties or special events. The rest of the time it is the parent’s job to make children understand that you won't let them eat bad foods because they are bad for them. Just like you won't let them smoke pot because pot is bad for them. Think that sounds extreme??, well you go get all the research you can that shows how bad for your health marijuana is and I'll go get all the research I can on how bad the flour, and saturated fat and preservatives in pizza is. Then we'll compare the facts, and you can tell me which one sounds worse (hint: you'd be better off to drop the slice and roll a joint). My point is that unhealthy food is killing people. Are you going to let it kill your children by not teaching them how to eat properly?
D. At age 78, you may not remember how much you weighted at 31. However, how much you weigh at 31 could determine if you make it to see 78, or 48 for that matter. Your weight is determined by your lifestyle. Some people have disorders that affect their weight, but even many of these disorders can be improved, if not overcome by proper diet and exercise.

-True anorexia is a very serious mental disorder. Think of schizophrenics, or those with multiple personality disorders. This is the group true anorexic fall into. They are delusional, and must get professional psychiatric help to survive. It is not a game, or a joke.

And BTW, Anorex is an ephedra/caffeine weight loss pill that works fairly well. It has a rather mild stimulant effect, much milder than many other products claiming to contain the same amounts of the same stimulants. Not sure why that is, could have to do with the quality of the ingredients. Anyway, you can't get the ephendra version anymore in the US, obviously. The kind KB sells now is ephedrine free, and as a result, doesn't work.

I didn't read all the comments so if someone said this already, forgive me.

Yes anorexia is a lifestyle. But it's not a healthy one. Neither is obesity. Anyone can do whatever they want, but people will still judge you no matter what. The key isn't to change everyone else into people who don't criticize because that will never happen. The key is to not give a fuck what people think because that's actually possible and will make you feel a whole lot better.