EMPHAsize Project
Contributing to a broader awareness and understanding of weight bias, nuances of presentation, and other issues of eating disorders for improved access to care
Why This Matters
Eating disorders are serious mental and physical health conditions that affect at least 1 million Canadians, with far-reaching consequences. These illnesses do not discriminate; they impact people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and body sizes. Alarmingly, 1.7 million Canadians will meet the criteria for an eating disorder in their lifetime, and many more struggle with disordered eating behaviors.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, aside from opioid use, with an estimated 10-15% of individuals dying from medical complications or suicide. Despite their severity, only 1 in 10 people receive specialized treatment due to stigma, long waitlists, and a lack of accessible care. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened this crisis, leading to a sharp rise in cases, particularly among youth, with hospitals reporting three times more admissions for severe eating disorders than before.
Our Vision and Mission
EMPHAsize is dedicated to enhancing the knowledge base and understanding amongst healthcare professionals about eating disorders by equipping them with evidence-based, inclusive education. Our goal is to help fill the knowledge gap in the health professions' curriculum in order to promote greater awareness of eating disorders and to facilitate early detection, and access to appropriate care for those experiencing eating disorders. Through collaboration with clinicians, researchers, and individuals with lived experience, we aim to create a valuable learning opportunity to help address this significant health issue.
Understanding Eating Disorders
Our Approach
The EMPHAsize project offers a series of interactive e-learning modules designed for healthcare professionals, whether in training or practicing. Each module focuses on key topics, from clinical diagnosis to the psychological and neurobiological aspects of eating disorders, for example. Each module was developed from extensive review of literature and tested through surveys for effectiveness. To ensure our content remains relevant and effective, we continue to update and refine the modules and incorporate feedback from module users. By combining flexible learning with ongoing research, we strive to create resources that are both practical and impactful.
The Gap in Education and Knowledge
Eating disorders are complex conditions that affect physical health, emotional well-being, and social functioning. They involve disordered eating behaviors (such as restriction, binge eating, purging) and are often accompanied by significant distress about body weight or shape. Despite their severity, eating disorders are frequently misunderstood, overlooked, or dismissed, particularly in individuals who do not fit stereotypical portrayals. Early intervention is critical, as delays in diagnosis and treatment worsen long-term outcomes and reduce the likelihood of recovery.
Many healthcare providers lack adequate training to recognize and address eating disorders, leading to misdiagnosis, ineffective care, or missed opportunities for early intervention. Weight bias and stigma further compound these challenges, disproportionately harming marginalized groups, including people in larger bodies, gender-diverse individuals, and racial or ethnic minorities. Additionally, limited access to specialized treatment forces many patients to rely on primary care providers who may feel unprepared to manage these conditions. There is very limited curriculum content in any of the health profession training programs in higher education. This systemic gap in education and resources leaves countless individuals without the support they need.
The Impact of Your Participation:
Healthcare professionals, students, health advocates and educators are encouraged to review the modules, learn, share and integrate your knowledge into practice. We also encourage and welcome your feedback about the learning experience. By engaging with EMPHAsize, you’re supporting a movement toward better eating disorder awareness and access to treatment. Your feedback helps shape more effective training tools, ensuring healthcare providers are better prepared to support patients. Early intervention shows the best recovery outcomes. Together, we can challenge harmful stereotypes, promote early intervention, and foster a healthcare environment where everyone receives the compassionate, and informed care they deserve.
Anatomy of a Pinecone
Using a pinecone as a metaphor for body image and eating disorder aims to build appreciation for the uniqueness of each body, and of the challenges of experiencing disordered eating. The hope is to facilitate greater understanding, decrease stigma, and encourage individuals to seek care, and choose recovery and wellbeing.
The spaces between each scale represent opportunities for growth, healing and sharing. Every cone/body has a story; tell yours.
The spikes at the end of each scale represent protection for the body and soul. They represent resiliency towards adversity from weight stigma and eating disorders, and show strength for recovery; believe in you.
Every pinecone is unique, and beautiful, just like each individual body; deserving of being picked up from the ground, honored, and cared for; seek help and choose recovery.
Dr. Sally Stewart, Associate Professor of Teaching
School of Health and Exercise Sciences, UBC
"EMPHAsize bridges the gap between research and a real-world serious health issue, offering evidence-based, multidisciplinary education to transform how we understand eating disorders. This project is a vital step toward reducing stigma and improving outcomes."
Address
3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7
Phone
604-600-5173
