Do I or Someone I know Have an Eating Disorder

Do I or Someone I Know Have an Eating Disorder?

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2014

With this week being the national eating disorder awareness week I think it would be appropriate to post some possible signs of an eating disorder.  A quick screening that can be used to help assess if you may need further evaluation to determine if you have an eating disorder, is called the SCOFF. 

The SCOFF questions*

Do you make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?

Do you worry you have lost Control over how much you eat?

Have you recently lost more than One stone (14 lbs) in a 3 month period?

Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?

Would you say that Food dominates your life?

*One point for every “yes”; a score of ≥2 indicates a likely case of anorexia nervosa or bulimia

(BMJ 1999;319:1467  or   http://www.bmj.com/content/319/7223/1467#alternate)

I encourage health professionals to provide this screening to all of their patients.  Just because someone isn’t underweight doesn’t mean they don’t have an eating disorder.  It is important to ask each patient about their relationship with food and their body and to encourage anyone who is struggling with these things to seek professional help.