Why five blunt questions work
The SCOFF was designed to do for eating disorders what quick screens do for depression and alcohol use: make it easy for anyone - a GP in a rushed appointment, or you at home - to check whether a real assessment is worth having. Its five yes/no questions target the core mechanics: purging, loss of control, rapid weight loss, distorted body image, and food preoccupation. Two or more yeses flags a possible problem with high sensitivity.
Screens are deliberately oversensitive. A positive result is an invitation to a conversation, not a verdict - and a negative one doesn't cancel your experience if food and body image are eating more of your life than you want them to.
Your period is part of this picture
One signal belongs in this conversation more than any other for our readers: your cycle. When energy intake runs persistently below what your body needs, the hypothalamus shuts down ovulation and periods stop - functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. It's common in restrictive eating and overexercise, and it does quiet damage to bone density while it lasts. If your periods have become irregular or vanished alongside changes in eating or training, mention both facts to your doctor together: they are one story, not two.
If this screen hit close to home
Eating disorders have the highest mortality of any mental illness and some of the best treatment outcomes when caught early - both facts argue for the same thing: telling one person. A doctor is the standard route; a helpline is a lower-pressure start (National Alliance for Eating Disorders in the US, 1-866-662-1235; Beat in the UK, 0808 801 0677). You don't need to be "sick enough." Struggling is enough.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SCOFF questionnaire?
A 5-question screening tool for anorexia and bulimia developed at St George's Hospital Medical School (Morgan, Reid & Lacey, 1999). The name is an acronym of its questions: Sick, Control, One stone, Fat, Food. Two or more yes answers is a positive screen, with high sensitivity in validation studies.
What does a positive screen mean?
Two or more yes answers means an eating disorder is possible and a proper assessment with a clinician is warranted - not that you definitely have one. Screens deliberately cast a wide net; some people who screen positive are fine, and the ones who aren't benefit enormously from being caught early.
What does an eating disorder have to do with my period?
A lot. When eating doesn't cover your body's energy needs, the brain downgrades reproduction: ovulation stops and periods become irregular or vanish (functional hypothalamic amenorrhea). A missing period alongside changed eating or intense exercise is a physical warning sign worth taking seriously - it signals low energy availability affecting bones and hormones, not just cycles.
Can you have an eating disorder at a normal weight?
Yes - most people with eating disorders are not underweight. Bulimia, binge eating disorder, and atypical anorexia all commonly occur at 'normal' or higher weights, which is exactly why screens ask about behaviors and thoughts rather than reading a scale. Weight is not the diagnostic.
What types of eating disorders exist?
The major ones: anorexia nervosa (restriction and fear of weight gain), bulimia nervosa (binge-purge cycles), binge eating disorder (the most common), and ARFID (avoidant/restrictive intake without body-image concerns). OSFED covers serious presentations that don't fit one label neatly. All are real illnesses with real treatments.
What should I do if I screened positive?
Tell one person - a GP or family doctor is the standard first step and can refer you to specialist care; a trusted friend or family member counts too. Helplines are a low-pressure start: the National Alliance for Eating Disorders (US, 1-866-662-1235) or Beat (UK, 0808 801 0677). Earlier support means easier recovery - that's the most consistent finding in the entire field.
Is recovery realistic?
Yes. Most people with eating disorders recover, particularly with early treatment. Evidence-based approaches - CBT-E, family-based treatment for adolescents, nutritional rehabilitation - have solid success rates. Recovery also restores the physical side: periods return, bone loss slows and partially reverses, and energy comes back.
Scale: 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.
These calculators give estimates based on cycle averages and standard formulas. They are for general information only and are not medical advice. For anything concerning your health or pregnancy, talk to a qualified healthcare provider.