EAT-26

Kristi L Shohet, MS, LPC| Eating Disorder Specialist

Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26)

The EAT-26 is one of the most commonly used inventories for identifying individuals at risk for an eating disorders. This instruments is administered by self-report, thus honesty when completing the inventory is necessary for the best results. The EAT-26 consists of three subscales that evaluates food preoccupation, oral control, and bulimic tendencies, by measuring restrictive eating, fear of weight changes, weight restricting activities, maladaptive thought processes, and body dissatisfaction. To use this inventory simply use the grid below to score each item and tally all 26 questions to yield a total score.

	Always	Usually	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
1. Am terrified about being overweight
2. Avoid eating when I am hungry
3. Find myself preoccupied with food
4. Have gone on eating binges where I feel I may not be able to stop
5. Cut my food into small pieces
6. Aware of the calorie content of foods I eat
7. Particularly avoid food with a high carbohydrate content ( bread, rice, potatoes, etc. )
8. Feel that others would prefer if I ate more
9. Vomit after I have eaten
10. Feel extremely guilty after eating
11. Am preoccupied with a desire to be thinner
12. Think about burning up calories when I exercise
13. Other people think I'm too thin
14. Am preoccupied with the thought of having fat on my body
15. Take longer than others to eat my meals
16. Avoid foods with sugar in them
17. Eat diet foods
18. Feel that food controls my life
19. Display self-control around food
20. Feel that others pressure me to eat
21. Give too much time and thought to food
22. Feel uncomfortable after eating sweets
23. Engage in dieting behavior
24. Like my stomach to be empty
25. Have the impulse to vomit after meals
26. Enjoy trying new rich foods

SCORING THE EATING ATTITUDES TEST
For all items except #26, each of the responses receives the following value:
Always = 3
Usually = 2
Often = 1
Sometimes = 0
Rarely = 0
Never = 0

For item #26, the responses receive these values:
Always = 0
Usually = 0
Often = 0
Sometimes = 1
Rarely = 2
Never = 3

After scoring each item, add the scores for a total. If your score is 20 or more, it is recommended that you discuss your responses with a counselor, nutritionist, or family doctor.

The results of this test is not intended to determine a diagnosis, nor suggest a life-threatening disorder, however the EAT-26 has proven to be an effective screening tool by identifying eating disorder symptomology, thus promoting earlier treatment and recovery.

Reproduced with permission by Dr. D. Garner (Garner et al., 1982. The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine , 12 , 871‑878). Further information on the EAT-26 can be obtained from: www.river-centre.org