Don't get the message: the effect of a warning text before visiting a proanorexia website.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the effect of the placement of a warning text before visiting proanorexia websites on actual access of these websites. METHOD A separate webpage with a warning text aiming at first-time visitors was placed before each proanorexia website hosted by a Dutch Internet provider. During the research period of 1 year, the numbers of hits at the warning webpage were registered together with the numbers of hits at the underlying proanorexia website. RESULTS Of the total number of hits registered at the warning webpage, about two-third of the visitors were registered at the underlying proanorexia website. This indicates that about one-third of the visitors did not continue their visit to a proanorexia website after being exposed to the warning text. DISCUSSION Placement of a warning text before proanorexia websites appears a promising strategy in holding back potential visitors.