Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
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This is a screening tool for eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. It’s designed for anyone concerned about their eating behaviours or body image and takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. The assessment is based on validated screening tools including the SCOFF questionnaire, which has been studied extensively in Canadian healthcare settings. Your responses are completely anonymous and confidential. Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions involving unhealthy relationships with food, eating, body weight, and body image. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, eating disorders affect people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds across Canada, with approximately 1 million Canadians currently experiencing an eating disorder.
Please note: This is a screening tool only and does not provide a diagnosis. Eating disorders are treatable mental health conditions with proper professional support. We strongly encourage you to discuss your results with your family doctor or an eating disorder specialist. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please seek immediate help by calling 911 or going to your nearest emergency department. All responses are anonymous and confidential.
Anorexia Nervosa involves severely restricting food intake leading to extreme weight loss, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image. Individuals view themselves as overweight despite being significantly underweight. Research from the University of Toronto indicates that anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates among mental health conditions, making early intervention crucial.
Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by purging behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, or excessive exercise. People experience feeling out of control during binges, and their self-worth becomes heavily influenced by body shape and weight. Studies from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) show that bulimia affects approximately 1-2% of Canadian women during their lifetime.
Binge Eating Disorder involves regular episodes of eating large amounts of food, feeling out of control while eating, consuming food when not hungry or until uncomfortably full, and experiencing guilt, shame, or distress afterwards. This is the most common eating disorder in Canada, affecting people across all body sizes.
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED) includes eating disorder symptoms that don’t fit precisely into other diagnostic categories but can be equally serious and require professional treatment.
Common warning signs include preoccupation with weight, food, calories, or body shape; following strict diets or engaging in food rituals; avoiding eating with family or friends; engaging in excessive or compulsive exercise; making frequent trips to the bathroom after meals; and using diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics for weight control purposes.
To complete this assessment accurately, please answer honestly about your recent experiences and behaviours. Think about your patterns over the past few months when responding. Choose the answer that best describes your situation—there are no right or wrong answers. For the most accurate results, please answer all questions. This screening includes questions about eating behaviours, body image, and sense of control over eating. If any questions feel difficult or triggering, please take your time, pause if needed, or consider completing this assessment with a trusted support person nearby.
These five questions screen for key features of eating disorders:
Eating Behaviors
Compensatory Behaviors
Binge Eating
SCOFF Questions (Questions 1-5): Research published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry confirms that 2 or more “Yes” answers suggests a possible eating disorder. The SCOFF questionnaire demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in Canadian populations.
Extended Assessment: The additional questions help identify the severity of concerns, specific eating disorder symptoms, the impact on your daily functioning, and whether professional evaluation is recommended.
What this means: Your responses suggest symptoms consistent with an eating disorder. This is a serious but highly treatable condition that requires professional support. According to the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), early intervention significantly improves recovery outcomes.
Next steps:
Important to know: Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions, not lifestyle choices or matters of willpower. Early intervention and treatment significantly improve outcomes and reduce health complications. Treatment is effective—full recovery is absolutely possible with appropriate support. You deserve help and don’t have to struggle alone. Most provincial health plans cover eating disorder treatment services.
Medical concerns requiring urgent attention: If you experience rapid or significant weight loss, fainting or dizziness, irregular heartbeat or chest pain, extreme weakness or fatigue, or severe dehydration, please seek urgent medical attention at your nearest emergency department or call 911 immediately.
What this means: Your responses indicate some warning signs or concerning patterns with food and body image, though they may not currently meet the full diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. However, these patterns warrant attention and support.
Next steps:
Prevention matters: Research from McGill University and other Canadian institutions shows that addressing concerns early can prevent the development of a full-blown eating disorder. You don’t need to wait until things become severe to seek help. Preventive intervention is valuable and effective.
What this means: Your responses don’t currently suggest an eating disorder. However, if you have any concerns about your relationship with food, eating, or your body image, it’s still worthwhile and appropriate to speak with a healthcare provider or counsellor.
Remember:
If concerns develop in the future, don’t hesitate to seek support. Resources like NEDIC (www.nedic.ca) and your provincial mental health services are available to all Canadians.
Eating disorders are highly treatable conditions. Research from Canadian treatment centres shows that comprehensive, evidence-based treatment leads to significant recovery. Effective treatment approaches include:
Therapy:
Medical Care:
Nutritional Support:
Medication:
Support Levels Available:
Your Family Doctor or Nurse Practitioner: Your first step should be scheduling an appointment for assessment and referral to specialist eating disorder services in your area.
Provincial Eating Disorder Services: Most provinces offer publicly funded specialist treatment:
NEDIC – National Eating Disorder Information Centre:
Provincial Resources:
Private Treatment: If accessible and affordable, private options include specialized therapists, private eating disorder clinics, and residential treatment centres across Canada.
How to help:
What to avoid saying:
Getting support for yourself:
Urgent concerns: If the person’s physical health is deteriorating rapidly, they refuse all help and are at medical risk, or there’s immediate medical danger, contact their family doctor urgently, call your local crisis line, or call 911 for emergency assistance.
Eating disorders can cause serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications affecting multiple body systems:
Anorexia Nervosa:
Bulimia Nervosa:
Binge Eating Disorder:
All eating disorder types can cause:
According to research from the University of British Columbia, early treatment significantly prevents many of these complications. Importantly, many physical effects can improve substantially or even reverse completely with proper treatment and sustained recovery.
This screening tool is based on validated research and diagnostic criteria:
SCOFF Questionnaire (Morgan et al., 1999) – An internationally validated screening tool for eating disorders that has been studied in Canadian healthcare settings and demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Additional assessment questions based on eating disorder diagnostic criteria from the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) and clinical best practices used in Canadian eating disorder treatment centres.
Reference: Morgan, J.F., Reid, F., & Lacey, J.H. (1999). The SCOFF questionnaire: Assessment of a new screening tool for eating disorders. BMJ, 319(7223), 1467-1468.
This online screening tool is not a diagnostic instrument and does not provide a medical diagnosis. It provides guidance and information only and cannot replace professional medical evaluation by a qualified eating disorder specialist or healthcare provider. Eating disorders are serious medical and mental health conditions requiring expert assessment and treatment. If you are experiencing medical complications, a health crisis, or thoughts of self-harm, please seek immediate help from your family doctor, your nearest emergency department, or by calling 911. Recovery is absolutely possible with proper treatment and support. This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. We do not collect, store, or share any personal health information (compliant with Canadian privacy legislation including PIPEDA).