Thank you, Madam Chair.
Dr. Woodside, thank you for being here and for providing clarifications concerning this very serious medical condition, which is increasingly prevalent in our society.
I was happy to hear you speak about factors that predispose people to this disease. As you said, it is a disease. It is thus a medical issue, without going into the societal factors that trigger it. I am happy that you said so.
I am myself a health professional, a general practitioner by training. For this reason I know that the DSM-V, like the previous DSM-IV, are included in the books that medical students study. They take psychiatry courses. They are acquainted with these eating disorders, whether we are talking about anorexia nervosa or bulimia. As you said earlier, it is true that people have a tendency to dismiss this. We know that there are specialties. I agree with you that specialists should be handling these cases.
All of that said, I am concerned, since this is a health care issue. I know that you head up one of the best eating disorders programs in the country. However, I wonder how accessible these programs are to people who live in rural areas, for instance. That is my first question.