Comorbid Conditions Symptom Tests

[Self-Test] Eating Disorders in Adults

Do you struggle with your body image? Feel out of control around food? Engage in unhealthy behaviors to change your weight and size? Take this self-test to see if you may be exhibiting signs of an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder.

By ADDitude Editors Verified Medically reviewed by Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D. Updated on January 12, 2023
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Surreal painting hope lonely and loneliness of crowd concept. minimal illustration, conceptual art, digital artwork

Do I Have an Eating Disorder?

About 30 million people in the U.S. will develop an eating disorder during their lifetime.1 The most common eating disorders – anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED) – are characterized by unhealthy behaviors and thoughts around food, eating, and body image.

Eating disorders often occur alongside other conditions. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for example, are at greater risk than those without ADHD for eating disorders.2 Anxiety and depression also feature prominently in eating disorders.3

If you suspect that you have symptoms of AN, BN, or BED, answer the questions below and share the results with a licensed mental health professional who is experienced in diagnosing and treating eating disorders.

If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) for support, resources, and treatment options. Call or text NEDA at 800-931-2237 or visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org to reach a NEDA volunteer.

This self-test was adapted from the Screen for Disordered Eating (SDE), the SCOFF Questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Screen for Primary Care (EDS-PC), and from criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It is designed to screen for the possibility of eating disorders like AN, BN, and BED, and it is for personal use only. This test is not intended as a diagnostic tool. Only a licensed mental health professional can diagnose eating disorders.

I am often preoccupied with a desire to be thinner.

I often eat in secret.

I feel the desire to eat when I am upset or stressed.

I make myself throw up to control my weight.

My weight affects the way I feel about myself.

I feel that food controls my life.

I believe myself to be fat even when others say that I am not.

I use laxatives, diet pills, diuretics, and other means to control my weight or shape.

I feel extremely guilty after eating.

I feel driven to exercise to “make up for” what I eat.

I feel that I can’t control what or how much I eat.


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Eating Disorders in Adults: Next Steps

View Article Sources

1 Deloitte Access Economics (2020). The social and economic cost of eating disorders in the united states of america: a report for the strategic training initiative for the prevention of eating disorders and the academy for eating disorders. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/

2 Nazar, B. P., Bernardes, C., Peachey, G., Sergeant, J., Mattos, P., & Treasure, J. (2016). The risk of eating disorders comorbid with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 49(12), 1045–1057. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22643

3 Balasundaram P, Santhanam P. Eating Disorders. [Updated 2022 Sep 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567717/