Friends of Choices - Self-test for food addiction

Self-Test: Are you a food addict?

The questions below were developed by FA (Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous) to help you determine whether you have an addictive relationship with food.

Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?
Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?
Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?
Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
Do you eat when you're not hungry?
Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?
Do you eat in secret?
Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
Have you ever stolen other people's food?
Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough?"
Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?
Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?
Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight?"
Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be a food addict. You are not alone. FA offers hope through a real solution to food addiction.

See our Online Resources page for more information about addiction, and about where you can go for help. If you haven't found them already, a number of service organizations address food addiction and compulsive overeating, including Overeaters Anonymous, Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous and Food Addicts Anonymous (a separate organization). Links go to their websites.

Important note: These self-assessment tools are not a professional diagnosis or opinion. While the results may provide you with useful information, they are not substitutes for the advice of someone trained in identifying and treating addictive disorders, who can understand your personal situation. Friends of Choices provides the information herein "as is," without warranties of any kind. We make no representations including without limitation warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or fitness for any purpose of any information or link to information contained on this site or other sites or correspondence. Under no circumstances shall Friends of Choices or any of its directors, employees or consultants be liable to the user for any damages whatsoever.

"Take the Test" is a service mark of Friends of Choices Inc., a not-for-profit corporation in the service of people with chemical dependency and those who love them. "Take the Test" is sponsored by the individuals and organizations that support Friends Of Choices. We thank them for their support and commitment to you and me and recovery.