Websites glorifying anorexia and bulimia
14.4.2009
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3096/09
by Esther De Lange (PPE‑DE)
to the Commission
The Commission devotes considerable attention in its health policies to the problems related to being overweight and obesity. Currently, some 22 million children are overweight in Europe, and five million children are seriously overweight. However, less attention is paid to the problems related to being underweight and to glorifying being underweight. Yet there are currently over 1 500 websites glorifying the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia. Visitors to such websites can, among other things, read tips on losing weight and see photographs of extremely thin people. That most visitors to the Belgian website www.pro-ana.be are from the Netherlands highlights the fact that websites have a cross‑border influence.
This prompts the following questions:
- —Can the Commission indicate whether it devotes any attention in its policies to the problems related to being underweight?
- —Can the Commission indicate what measures have already been taken in the Member States to combat the glorification of the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia?
- —Does the Commission intend to investigate whether a European code of conduct could contribute to combating the glorification of the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia?
- —Does the Commission see the need for a Europe‑wide approach to deal with the problems related to being underweight?
- —Does the Commission intend to gather statistics in the Member States indicating how many people are suffering from the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia?
OJ C 189, 13/07/2010