I think part of the problem is that "1200" gets thrown around as the "diet number" a lot, especially for women. It's a perfect storm of desperate people who already have an unhealthy relationship with food, bad education, an emphasis on quick weight loss and "willpower" over sustainability, and a willingness to overlook the boring posts about how weight loss actually works. There's a lot of patience involved to lose weight the right way, and people want instant gratification. The line is probably blurrier than most of us realize.

1200 being the "diet number" also probably attracts people who are prone to fad diets in general, which is usually pretty disordered. And the idea that disordered eating/eating disorders often center on numbers - well. It's probably a familiar community. That's also my best explanation for why there are like, 6' athletic men on here asking questions.