Eating disorders neglected

Re Senate calls for action on obesity, Aug. 20 There is so much focus on obesity and its repercussions these days that eating disorders get neglected, and often the action needed to combat eating disorders is at odds with that needed for obesity.

Yet, eating disorders are much more deadly than obesity, and eating disorders and disordered eating affect a lot more people than obesity does. And often eating disorders are at the root of obesity.

Combating obesity alone by measures such as a soda and “junk” food tax (I don’t like it being called junk food as all foods can have a place in a healthy diet so long as certain foods are eaten less frequently, but not abolished from the diet altogether) does not get to the root of the problem and likely will not prove very effective.

And certain measures might just make the problem even worse.

Jessica Tavares, Toronto