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Eating disorders can be deadly

It's a little-known fact that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are the deadliest mental illnesses in Canada, with anorexia killing 10% of sufferers within 10 years of its onset.

It's a little-known fact that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are the deadliest mental illnesses in Canada, with anorexia killing 10% of sufferers within 10 years of its onset.

Because such information comes as a surprise to many people, Feb. 6 to 12 has been designated Eating Disorders Awareness Week in Canada.

In the Tri-Cities, raising awareness and dispelling myths about these diseases is the work of Shelley Jensen and her Shelley's Angels Society.

To do so, on Saturday, Feb. 12, the society is hosting a 1 p.m. screening of the Vancouver-made film No Numbers: Identity Beyond Measure followed by a discussion with director Dena Ashbaugh at the Coquitlam Public Library, 575 Poirier St.

This by-donation event is open to anyone - even those who think they don't know someone with an eating disorder.

The donations will help Shelley's Angels supply two annual bursaries of $2,500 and $1,400 to help pay for treatment for residents who need it most.

The society received 90 requests for help with eating disorder treatment last year and the same number the year before, leaving 88 people who didn't qualify for the bursaries in need.

"Here in suburbia, [eating disorders] are much more common," Jensen said. "In the Tri-Cities, there's lots of teens and even lots of people over 30 with eating disorders, which people don't really realize."

The mandate of the Canadian Mental Health Association focuses on youths under 18, Jensen said, while a whole demographic of adults with eating disorders tends to be ignored.

She added that eating disorders are increasingly common in older adults and are often triggered by things such as work environment, divorce, pregnancy, menopause or a death in the family.

More than 200,000 British Columbians are currently struggling with an eating disorder of some kind, she said, with many refusing to disclose it to friends and family until it's too late.

tcoyne@tricitynews.com