News

Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Feb. 1-7

Published: 23 January 2015

Eating Disorders Awareness Week puts the spotlight on the seriousness of eating disorders and to improve public understanding of their causes, triggers and treatments. By increasing awareness and access to resources, we can encourage early detection and intervention, which can improve the likelihood of full recovery for millions.While it is difficult to put an exact figure on the amount of people affected by eating disorders, as numbers vary between 150,000 to more than 600,000 across Canada.

 

According to the National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED):

·         About three per cent of women are affected by an eating disorder over their lifetime

·         Doctors say there are two-to-three times more cases than a generation ago

·         the rate of obesity is nine per cent in girls, while the rate of eating disorders sits at 18 per cent 

·         Incidence of restrictive eating disorders in children aged five to 12 is twice the incident rate of type II diabetes in all children, from newborn to 18 years

·         Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder, according to the NIED

 

McGill/ The Douglas Mental Health University Institute experts:

 

Dr. Howard SteigerChief, Eating Disorders Program, Douglas Institute, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Associate Member, Department of Psychology, McGill University and UQAM

ExpertiseEating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, personality pathology, neurobiology, gene-environment interactions, developmental factors

Contact: howard.steiger [at] douglas.mcgill.ca

Available for interviews in French and English

 

Dr. Mimi IsraelPsychiatrist-in-Chief, Douglas Institute, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill, President, Association of Chiefs of Departments of Psychiatry of Montreal, Fellow, Academy of Eating Disorders

Expertise: Eating disorders, affective disorders, crisis intervention, emergency psychiatry and mental health care service organization and delivery

Contact: mimi.israel [at] douglas.mcgill.ca

Available for interviews in French and English

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