Thank you so much, Madam Chair and committee members, for inviting me here today.
I'm coming here from Vancouver, which is the traditional unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. In addition to representing the BC Children's Hospital eating disorders program, I am the president-elect of the Eating Disorders Association of Canada.
Back in 2014, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women published a report on eating disorders in girls and women in Canada, which references the services for eating disorders being in a state of crisis. The pandemic has really exacerbated this crisis and created a perfect storm of factors that has led to increased presentations of new eating disorder diagnoses across Canada, as well as internationally.
We know that biological and genetic factors interact with psychosocial challenges in the development of eating disorders. The psychosocial challenges in the context of the pandemic—including disruptions to daily routine, decreased opportunities for physical activity and increased social media use—are thought to be contributing to the surge in eating disorders.
In terms of the details of the surge, a report published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that hospitalizations for young girls and women with eating disorders between the ages of 10 and 17 years increased by nearly 60% during the pandemic. Data from different Canadian eating disorders programs report similar or even larger increases.
Although the study is currently focused on mental health in girls and women, I want to highlight that eating disorders are diagnosed in people of all genders, all racial and ethnic groups, all body shapes and weight, and all socio-economic backgrounds. Eating disorders are a health crisis that can be fatal and, in fact, have one of the highest mortality rates of all mental health diagnoses. Because of that, intervention is really critical to prevent lifelong fatal consequences.
People with eating disorders experience a lot of barriers in accessing services. These barriers can include exclusion criteria for referrals or challenges in finding health care professionals who offer services for some eating disorder diagnoses. For example, services for an eating disorder called avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, also known as ARFID, which is a newly emerged eating disorder diagnosis, vary depending on where an individual lives, and typically are focused on pediatric services. Individuals with ARFID may present in a variety of mental health settings outside of specialized eating disorder services. Research from our group has demonstrated that health care professionals, particularly those who do not specialize in eating disorders, report very low confidence in providing clinical care for individuals with ARFID.
In looking for a path forward, we can look to our international colleagues who have developed innovative service models that can be adapted for a Canadian context. For example, Australia has created a national institute for research, translation and clinical excellence in eating disorders. In 2021, it released a national research and translation strategy for eating disorders. I would argue that the development of these national resources has contributed to innovative service models, including models that have focused on early intervention.
Similarly, in the U.K. there's a new intervention known as the first episode rapid early intervention for eating disorders model, or FREED, which focuses on rapid response to referrals with benchmarks for service provision, including telephone screening within 48 hours of referral and assessment in less than two weeks of referral.
As the committee looks for pathways forward, I want to highlight the existence of the “Canadian Eating Disorders Strategy”, which was published in 2019. It's a 10-year strategy outlining 50 recommendations for improving outcomes for individuals with eating disorders. These recommendations remain relevant today. They were developed in collaboration with the four national Canadian eating disorders organizations together with input from stakeholders.
Thank you so much.