Eating disorders affect thousands of people in N.L., says association

Eating disorders are a serious mental illness, and according to one advocate, around 20,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador live with one.

In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that an estimated one million Canadians met the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, eating disorders — which include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa — have the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness in the country.

"It is a serious mental illness that has very, very major physical repercussions," Eating Disorder Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador executive director Paul Thomey recently told CBC News.

Darcie Valois, a fourth-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at Memorial University with an interest in eating disorders, said there could be more than 20,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador affected because some people don't report due to stigma about them.

"People who have an eating disorder experience a lot of shame, and that kind of keeps them from reaching out," said Valois.

There are a lot of myths about eating disorders as well, she added — some people might not think they have an eating disorder because of how they look, believing they only impact thinner bodies, for example.

LISTEN: Paul Thomey says thousands of people live with eating disorders in the province:

People may also avoid seeking help because they think they're not sick enough. In some cases, doctors might be telling them to lose weight or people might congratulate them for losing weight, she said.

"But in reality, people with any weight, any race, any gender can have an eating disorder," said Valois.

Thomey has also heard of people as young as six years old, as well as seniors, coming forward for help, both reaching out to the foundation as well as the provincial health-care system. More boys and men are coming forward, too.

Getting help

Valois said eating disorders are a serious mental health condition that impacts individuals' mental and physical health. She added there are also effective treatments available.

"Everybody deserves recovery, whether or not the eating disorder voice is telling them otherwise," she said.

If people think they might have an eating disorder, said Thomey, they should talk to their family doctor, who can refer them to treatment.

But according to the provincial medical association, about 136,000 people don't have a family doctor, so Thomey said people can also reach out to the Eating Disorder Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador where they can be directed to the right resources in the health-care system.

Valois said the foundation is a good place to get support, both for individuals with eating disorders as well as their families.

Thomey encouraged people to seek help if they think they have an eating disorder.

"It's not going to go away on its own in most cases, and professional health is available there. And we do have good programs and services in this province," he said.

Those include the Janeway children's hospital's adolescent medicine group, a four-bed inpatient program and the Hope outpatient program for people diagnosed with eating disorders.

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