There has been a real lack of any kind of research in Canada on eating disorders over the last little while. The most recent detailed calculation done by Statistics Canada of how many people we're looking at in Canada was done in 1993. That's part of the reason you see huge variations in estimates of what the needs are. You end up with a bit of a vicious cycle happening for the non-profits, the community organizations, and the health care providers that want to be able to offer programs. To offer programs they need to show hard statistics, but they need funding and the ability to do pilots to collect that data. I think there has been a really big gap.
Another issue of what research it would help to have from the government would be an analysis of the full financial impact of eating disorders on Canada. Countries like Germany have looked into that. It needs to take into account not just the cost to the health care system, but also the burden placed on caregivers, the indirect costs that are caused by people not being able to work. I think all that information would be beneficial for us to figure out how we can address the needs that are there and to show that, as they have in Germany, not addressing these issues is ethically but also financially irresponsible in the long term.