Disordered Eating Screen (SCOFF)
Is your relationship with food and your body okay?
Published by the Healthio+ editorial team · Based on Adapted from the SCOFF questionnaire, a brief eating-disorder screening tool.
How we build our tests →These questions ask about eating, weight, and body image. Answer honestly and gently — it's okay to stop if you need to. Nothing you enter is saved or linked to you.
This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Results are for self-reflection only. Only a licensed professional can diagnose a condition.
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About the Disordered Eating Screen (SCOFF)
Also known as: disordered eating quiz, eating disorder screening test, SCOFF questionnaire, relationship with food quiz.
This is a free, private screen for disordered eating — your relationship with food, eating and body image. It takes a couple of minutes, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
The first five questions are the SCOFF questionnaire, developed by Morgan, Reid and Lacey and published in 2000. SCOFF is one of the most widely used brief screening tools for eating disorders, validated in both specialist and primary care settings, with reported sensitivity of 78–100% and specificity of around 88–90% at its standard threshold.
It is important to be clear about what a screen is. SCOFF was designed to raise a question, not to answer one. Two or more concerning answers is the point at which clinicians are advised to take a fuller history — it indicates that a conversation is warranted, not that you have an eating disorder. Only a qualified professional can assess that, and many people who screen positive turn out not to have one.
This test is a free, anonymous online screening you can complete in about three minutes. It has 8 questions and is adapted from Adapted from the SCOFF questionnaire, a brief eating-disorder screening tool. Your answers are scored privately in your browser — nothing is saved or linked to you — and you get an instant result framed for self-reflection rather than as a diagnosis.
Signs and symptoms of Disordered Eating Screen (SCOFF)
Disordered eating covers a wide range, and it does not have a particular look. Patterns that are worth paying attention to include:
- Food or eating taking up a large share of your thinking day to day.
- Feeling out of control around eating, or frightened of losing control.
- Intense guilt or shame after eating.
- Avoiding eating around other people, or finding social meals stressful.
- Feeling at odds with others about your body — believing something about your size that people close to you dispute.
- Treating exercise, fasting or skipping meals as a way of compensating for eating.
- Rules about food that have become rigid, and distressing to break.
Who is this test for?
Anyone who has been noticing these feelings or patterns and wants a structured, private way to reflect on them. It's a starting point for people wondering whether what they're experiencing is worth paying attention to — not a way to label or diagnose yourself. It is not suitable for anyone in crisis or in need of urgent help — if that's you, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis line right away.
How to read your results
Low (score 0–1)
Your responses don't raise strong concerns about disordered eating right now.
Elevated (score 2–8)
Your responses suggest a possible concern with eating or body image that's worth taking seriously. This is common and very treatable — please consider talking to a doctor or an eating-disorder specialist. In the US you can contact the NEDA Helpline; elsewhere, look up a local eating-disorder support line.
Where this test comes from
This screening is adapted from Adapted from the SCOFF questionnaire, a brief eating-disorder screening tool. We keep the original questions and validated scoring intact and add plain-language explanations of what each result means. You can read our full process, including how we handle sources and sensitive topics, in how we build our tests.
What to do with your result
Whatever your result, treat it as information, not a verdict. If it resonates, it can be a useful thing to bring to a doctor or mental-health professional — they can see the full picture a short questionnaire can't. Feelings and circumstances change, so retaking the test after a few weeks can also show whether things are shifting over time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SCOFF questionnaire?
SCOFF is a five-question screening tool for eating disorders, developed by Morgan, Reid and Lacey and published in 2000. It was designed to be brief enough for a doctor to use in a routine consultation, and it is widely used in primary care. It screens — it does not diagnose.
What does my score mean?
Two or more concerning answers is the established threshold at which clinicians are advised to explore further. It is a prompt for a conversation, not a diagnosis or a verdict on how serious things are. A lower score does not rule anything out either — if you are worried about your eating, that concern is reason enough to talk to someone, whatever this page says.
What is the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a diagnosable mental health condition, assessed by a professional against specific criteria. Disordered eating is the broader term for troubled patterns around food, eating and body image that cause distress but may not meet those criteria. The distinction matters clinically, but it matters less for deciding whether to seek help — distress is sufficient reason on its own.
Do I need to be underweight for this to be a problem?
No. Eating disorders and disordered eating occur across every body size, and weight is not a reliable indicator of how serious someone's difficulties are. People at any weight can be seriously unwell, and many never appear visibly different to others. If your relationship with food is causing you distress, that is what matters.
Where can I get help?
A GP or doctor is a good starting point and can refer you onwards. In the UK, Beat runs a helpline and online support. In the US, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders operates a helpline staffed by clinicians. In Australia, the Butterfly Foundation offers a national helpline. Eating disorders are treatable, and outcomes are meaningfully better the earlier support begins — reaching out early is not an overreaction.
Is the Disordered Eating Screen (SCOFF) free?
Yes — completely free. No signup, no email, and no paywall. Healthio+ currently carries no advertising at all.
Is this test anonymous, and is my data saved?
It's fully anonymous. Your answers are scored entirely in your browser and are never sent to us or stored anywhere. We keep only an anonymous count of how many people take each test, plus which browser family was used and which site you arrived from — never who took it or how they answered.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. This is a screening tool for self-reflection, not a medical or psychological diagnosis. No online test can diagnose you. If your result resonates, consider speaking with a qualified doctor or mental-health professional.
How long does this test take?
About three minutes. It has 8 questions and gives you an instant result the moment you finish.
What is this test based on?
Adapted from the SCOFF questionnaire, a brief eating-disorder screening tool.