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Some Primary Indications of Compulsive Overeating

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Overeaters Anonymous, founded in 1960 in Los Angeles and modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous, has chapters in every state and in 50 countries, with 7,500 groups meeting weekly. The following quiz was devised by OA to help people determine whether they are compulsive overeaters.

1. Do you eat when you’re not hungry?

2. Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?

3. Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?

4. Do you give too much time and thought to food?

5. Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?

6. Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?

7. Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?

8. Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?

9. Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?

10. Do you resent others telling you to “use a little willpower” to stop overeating?

11. Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet “on your own” whenever you wish?

12. Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?

13. Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?

14. Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?

15. Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?

According to OA, if you answer yes to three or more of the questions, “it is probable that you have or are well on your way to having a compulsive overeating problem.”

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Quiz reprinted with permission from Overeaters Anonymous World Service Office in Rio Rancho, N.M.

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