Mr. Speaker, this is Eating Disorders Week in Canada.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in young adult females and the second most common chronic illness in adolescents. They have the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder in adolescents. Youth with eating disorders are 12 times more likely to die than their peers who do not have eating disorders.
There are 600,000 to one million Canadians who have been diagnosed with eating disorders. Stigma and late diagnosis contribute to chronicity, which in turn makes it difficult to treat. Less than 50% of patients have successful treatment. Without treatment, eating disorders and their related co-morbidities, including substance abuse, can cause severe disability and death, yet many primary care physicians do not regularly screen for eating disorders or have the skills to detect them.
It is time to develop a strategy to improve awareness, prevent and diagnose eating disorders early, and to fight the stigma faced by patients.