Anorexia Nervosa Test (Eating Attitudes Screening): Screen Restriction and Fear
This anorexia nervosa test screens for restriction, fear of weight gain, and body image distress. Informed by EAT-26 and SCOFF research, it offers an instant educational result, without diagnosing an eating disorder.
Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW 
Anorexia Nervosa Test (Eating Attitudes Screening) is a free, confidential 15-question self-assessment, informed by the EAT-26 and SCOFF. It takes about 7 minutes, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language score across 3 interpretation bands plus an optional in-depth report. It is an educational screening, not a diagnosis.
The three threads that define anorexia, looked at together
Anorexia nervosa is not defined by a number on a scale. Clinicians look for three things moving together: restriction of food, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted experience of one's own body. This screening looks at all three.
Restriction
Skipped meals, shrinking portions, rigid food rules, and eating noticeably less than your body needs. Five items on the behaviors that narrow what and how much you eat.
Fear of weight gain
The intense fear of gaining weight that drives restriction, including anxiety around fullness, compensating for eating, and a fear that doesn't ease even as weight falls. Five items.
Body image
How you see and judge your body: believing you are bigger than others say, constant checking and comparing, and self-worth that rises and falls with shape and weight. Five items.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| Grounded in validated instruments | Sometimes | Yes, EAT-26 and SCOFF informed |
| Covers all three DSM-5 threads | Rarely | Restriction / fear / body image |
| Honest about being a screener | Vague labels | Yes, clearly explained |
| Supportive, non-triggering framing | Often clinical | Yes, trauma-informed |
| Clinician-reviewed interpretation | Rarely | Yes, clinician reviewed |
| Optional in-depth personalized report | No | Yes, written to your exact scores |
| Confidential (no data sent) | Often tracked | Runs in your browser |
How scoring works
Answers are scored 0–45 in total. Your result falls into one of 3 bands:
| Score | Band | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | Few signs on this screening | Your answers show few of the attitudes this screening covers. That is reassuring on this measure, though no screening captures everything. |
| 11–22 | Some signs worth attention | Your answers show a meaningful presence of restriction, fear of weight gain, or body image distress. This is a pattern worth taking seriously now, while it is easier to change. |
| 23–45 | Significant signs, please reach out | Your answers show a strong pattern of restriction, fear, and body image distress. Carrying this is exhausting, and you should not have to carry it alone. Professional support is the right next step. |
How this screening is scored
The Anorexia Nervosa Test summarizes eating attitudes; it cannot assess physical health or establish a diagnosis. The 15 statements split evenly into three groups of five: restriction, fear of weight gain, and body image, mirroring the three threads the DSM-5 uses to describe anorexia nervosa. Each statement is rated from never (0) to almost always (3), so each of the three groups can total 0 to 15, and the full screening totals 0 to 45. The breakdown chart on your result page shows all three group totals side by side, which usually tells you more than the single combined number, since one thread can run high while another stays quiet.
The 0 to 10, 11 to 22, and 23 to 45 bands are educational guides rather than clinical cutoffs, since this screener was written to cover the content of the EAT-26 and SCOFF rather than to reproduce either instrument's own scoring. Wherever your total lands, the breakdown is worth a second look, because a high score concentrated in one thread, especially fear of weight gain or body image, can matter just as much as a high combined total.
A low score does not establish that your eating is medically safe. The screening cannot assess hydration, heart function, nutritional status, or the effects of changes in intake. Seek a medical assessment when eating concerns persist, even if you do not identify with every question or your weight appears unremarkable.
Signs it may be time to talk to a professional
Some signs are physical: feeling cold when others don't, dizziness, hair thinning, or changes in menstrual cycles. Others are behavioral: needing to eat at exact times or in exact amounts, avoiding meals with other people, or a mental preoccupation with food and eating that crowds out most of the day. None of these alone means anorexia, but a cluster of them, especially alongside a high score on this screening, is a reasonable reason to book a medical check-in rather than wait for things to feel undeniable.
If body image distress is the loudest part of your result, the Body Image Worksheet is a starting exercise for putting words to that experience before or alongside professional support, and our Body Dysmorphia Test (BDD) looks specifically at appearance-focused distress if that feels closer to your experience. For finding that support, the Psychology.com therapist directory lets you search for clinicians who specialize in eating disorders and body image.
You do not need to wait for several warning signs or a high score before asking for help. Contact a medical professional promptly if restriction is affecting how you feel physically. Severe weakness, fainting, chest pain, or confusion warrant urgent medical attention. A worksheet or another screening should never delay that assessment.
What should I tell a doctor about eating concerns?
You can begin with ordinary language: eating feels frightening, food rules are getting harder to break, or thoughts about your body are taking over your day. Describe changes in eating, exercise, energy, and physical symptoms. If speaking feels difficult, bring written notes or ask someone you trust to accompany you.
Mention bingeing or purging even if restriction is your main concern. The Eating Disorder Test and Bulimia Nervosa Test (Binge-Purge Screening) explore related patterns, but their results also cannot establish a diagnosis. The tests hub can help you understand what each self-assessment covers; completing more questionnaires is optional and is not a requirement for care.
Methodology & sources
This is an educational screener, not a reproduction of a single validated instrument. Its fifteen items were written to cover the three threads that define anorexia nervosa in the DSM-5: restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and disturbance in how one's body weight or shape is experienced. The item content is informed by the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner et al., 1982), the most widely used eating attitudes screen, and by the SCOFF questionnaire (Morgan, Reid & Lacey, 1999), a brief clinician screen, with each statement rated on a 0 to 3 frequency scale for a total of 0 to 45.
Because this screener is not a validated instrument, its bands are educational guides rather than clinical cutoffs: lower totals suggest few of the attitudes the screener covers, middle totals a pattern worth attention, and higher totals a pattern that warrants professional assessment. It cannot weigh you, examine you, or establish a diagnosis, and anorexia in particular has medical dimensions that only a clinician can assess. If your answers or your relationship with food concern you, please treat that as reason enough to talk with a doctor or an eating-disorder specialist, whatever your score.
Evidence about the EAT-26 or SCOFF applies to those instruments as studied. Their diagnostic accuracy and referral thresholds cannot be assigned to these original items or educational bands. This screening also cannot distinguish anorexia nervosa from atypical anorexia or other causes of restricted eating; that requires a clinical history and medical assessment.
References
- Garner DM, Olmsted MP, Bohr Y, Garfinkel PE. The Eating Attitudes Test: psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychol Med. 1982;12(4):871-878. doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700049163
- Morgan JF, Reid F, Lacey JH. The SCOFF questionnaire: assessment of a new screening tool for eating disorders. BMJ. 1999;319(7223):1467-1468. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7223.1467
- Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J, Nielsen S. Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta-analysis of 36 studies. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(7):724-731. doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know. nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 16). Anorexia Nervosa Test (Eating Attitudes Screening). Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tests/anorexia
Anorexia Nervosa Test (Eating Attitudes Screening) FAQ
What is anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder defined by three things moving together: restricting food to significantly less than the body needs, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbed experience of one's own body weight or shape. It affects people of every gender, age, and background, and contrary to stereotype, you cannot tell whether someone has it by looking at them.
Is this an official anorexia diagnosis test?
No, and no online test can be. This is an educational screener informed by validated instruments, built for self-reflection. Diagnosing anorexia requires a clinical assessment, including medical evaluation, that only a licensed professional can do. What this screening can do is help you put words to your experience and decide whether a fuller conversation is worthwhile.
Why is early help so important with anorexia?
Anorexia can cause serious medical complications, and people with anorexia also face a risk of suicide. Early assessment gives clinicians a chance to evaluate physical health and arrange appropriate support. Care may include medical monitoring, nutritional support, and psychotherapy, depending on the person’s needs. You deserve help before symptoms become severe, and a low screening score should never be a reason to postpone a conversation about concerning eating patterns.
Can you have anorexia without being underweight?
Yes. The DSM-5 recognizes atypical anorexia, where all the psychological features are present, restriction, fear of weight gain, and body image disturbance, without a low body weight. It is just as serious and carries many of the same medical risks. Weight alone is never the measure of whether someone deserves help.
Is the test really confidential?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser. Your individual answers are scored in your browser and are never sent to us or linked to you. They stay in this tab so you can return to your result, and closing or clearing the tab clears them. If you ask us to email the PDF, we receive your summary scores with your email address, never your individual answers. No account is needed.
What if my concerns are more about bingeing or purging?
Eating disorders overlap, and many people move between patterns over time. If episodes of eating large amounts with a feeling of lost control sound more familiar, our binge eating disorder test may fit better; if a binge-and-compensate cycle does, our bulimia test looks at that directly; and our general eating disorder test based on the SCOFF is a quick starting point covering the common warning signs.
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