Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder are the most common eating disorders. People with eating disorders can be underweight, normal weight, or overweight, so you cannot tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them.

Below is a simple screen* you can use to find out if you (or someone you care about) may be struggling with an eating disorder.

1. Do you make yourself sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
2. Do you worry you have lost control over how much you eat?
3. Have you recently lost more than 15 pounds in a three-month period?
4. Do you believe yourself to be fat when others say you are too thin?
5. Would you say that food dominates your life?

Any person answering "yes" to two or more of these five questions is quite likely to have an eating disorder.

For more information, check out NEDA.

*The SCOFF test has been validated as an effective screening tool by the following studies.

• Morgan, J.F., Lacey, J.H., & Luck, A. (2002, April). Validation of the SCOFF questionnaire for case detection of eating disorders in primary care. Paper presented at the International Conference on Eating Disorders of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Boston, MA.
• Perry, L., Morgan, J., Reid, F., Brunton, J., OÕBrien, A., Luck, A., and Lacey, H. (2002). Screening for symptoms of eating disorders: Reliability of the SCOFF Screening Tool with written compared to oral deliver. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 32, 466-472.

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