Wannarexia

Wannarexia, or anorexic yearning, is a label applied to someone who claims to have anorexia nervosa, or wishes they did, but does not. These individuals are also called wannarexic, “wanna-be ana” or "anorexic wannabe". The neologism wannarexia is a portmanteau of the latter two terms. It may be used as a pejorative term.

Wannarexia is a cultural phenomenon and has no diagnostic criteria,. Wannarexia is more commonly, but not always, found in teenagers who want to be trendy, and is likely caused by a combination of cultural and media influences.

Many people who actually suffer from the eating disorder anorexia are angry, offended, or frustrated about wannarexia. Eating disorders are about using food to cope with life distress, and they have very complex underlying causes. People with eating disorders might use weight as a measure of self-worth, and they often derive pleasure from losing weight while it doesn't feel enough. The notion of "wannarexic" is a very dangerous invalidation of eating disorders that are not specified based on the BMI criteria of the DSM. It can feed the eating disorder mindset of not sick enough and lead people to get too sick to validate their struggle with an eating disorder however even the most severely ill people suffering from eating disorders still struggle to feel "sick enough" .

Wannarexics may be inspired or motivated by the pro-anorexia, or pro-ana, community that promotes or supports anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than an eating disorder. Some participants in pro-ana web forums only want to associate with "real anorexics" and will shun wannarexics who only diet occasionally, and are not dedicated to the "lifestyle" full-time. Community websites for anorexics and bulimics have posted advice to wannarexics saying that they don't want their "warped perspectives and dangerous behaviour to affect others."

Kelsey Osgood uses the label in her book How To Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia where she describes wannarexia as “a gateway drug for teenagers”.