Raising awareness as thousands of Quebecers live with eating disorders

A Montreal organization fields thousands of calls per year from people in Quebec living with eating disorders.

About 300,000 people in Quebec live with an eating disorder, according to one organization.

Anorexie et boulimie Québec (ANEB) says it has responded to more than 45,000 requests for help in the past year.

The organization describes eating disorders as complex mental health conditions that require specialized care and understanding.

At Maison Majorelle, a café in Rosmere, Sophia Zito reflected on the early signs of her daughter’s struggle with anorexia and the long recovery process that followed.

Zito says her daughter Emma began avoiding certain foods at 13-years-old.

“She would avoid sugar altogether and certain food types and I thought for someone that young it wasn’t normal behaviour,” she said.

Emma was later diagnosed with anorexia at age 14. Now at 24, she continues her recovery.

Zito says the diagnosis brought fear and confusion, as well as many unanswered questions.

“I hadn’t suffered from an eating disorder,” she said. “So, it was a whole path of learning about that illness.”

As part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which runs from Feb. 1 to 7, Zito wore purple, the colour associated with raising awareness about these illnesses.

She hopes her family’s story can spark conversation and reduce misconceptions surrounding eating disorders.

“Not only you have the shock of going through a major illness, you’re afraid for your child’s life, you [also] have to explain what it is,” says Zito. “It’s a nonsense.”

According to ANEB, more than a million Canadians struggle with an eating disorder.