HEALTH experts are warning against a dangerous online trend known as ''gainer websites'' which encourage overweight people to put on massive amounts of body fat.
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The so-called ''gainer blogs'' are mostly American in origin but have members all around the world who set themselves weight-gaining goals, with a common target of between 300-400 pounds or 136-181 kilograms.
Members congratulate one another for putting on weight and criticise those who leave the sites to pursue healthier lifestyles.
The Dietitians Association of Australia has warned the gainer sites were similar to the pro-anorexia websites, which used similar tactics to encourage members to starve themselves.
Much like so-called ''ana sites'' which post pictures of very skinny fashion models and celebrities for ''thinspiration'', gainer websites often share pictures of extremely obese stomachs or other body parts to inspire one another to greater weight gain.
The chief executive of eating disorder support group The Butterfly Foundation, Christine Morgan, said the sites could be destructive.
''Sites like these can be quite cult-like in the way they bring people into the club,'' she said. ''It's something we have encountered with the pro-anorexia sites.
''The encouragement from these websites is very dangerous and very effective. They speak about their experiences and it's hard for them to leave.
''It's a problem of body image. Body image is not about what you look like - it's about how you feel about what you look like.
''Somebody who is trying to change their size is effectively saying 'I don't like how I look now - I want to look different'.''
Dietitians Association of Australia spokeswoman Melanie McGrice said she had seen a couple of the gainer blogs online.
''It's obviously people who are really hurting and who are looking for weight gain to fill holes in other areas of their life,'' she said. ''They are going about it in such an unhealthy way. It is like a form of personal abuse.''
Australian Medical Association federal president Steve Hambleton said he did not believe these gainer websites were widely used in Australia.
''Most overweight or obese people in Australia have not got eating disorders. It's a different aetiology. For most people it's because of energy-dense, nutrition-poor foods. It's high amounts of sugar, salt and fat in the diets.''
The Butterfly Foundation has a support line for disordered eating: 1800 334 673 or email: support@butterflyfoundation .org.au.
