With names like "Stick Figures" and "Anorexic and Proud," pro- eating-disorder forums have exploded on the Internet during the past year, according to health care specialists. The forums, run by individuals who call their eating habits a lifestyle choice rather than a disorder, offer everything from tips on starving and purging to photos of celebrities doctored to look anorexic.

For the past six months, [Holly Hoff] said, her organization, along with other health care groups, sent letters to Yahoo and other hosts urging removal of the forums. Hoff said they often received the same response: "We're not responsible for the content on our servers; it's protected by freedom of speech."

Yahoo spokeswoman Dianna Lee said yesterday that she could not confirm when the company removed the sites, adding that user complaints are reviewed within 24 hours and in "extreme" cases, sites that violate Yahoo's service agreement prohibiting "harmful, threatening, and abusive" messages are removed.