You may have found this page because you are a young person concerned about your behavior around food or you are an OA member seeking ways to reach out to young people interested in OA.

Tradition 3: "The only requirement for OA membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively." In the spirit of this Tradition, compulsive eaters of any age, young or old, are welcome to seek help in OA.

Since the term youth can mean different ages to different people, we have included information for a wide distribution of age groups — from young children to young adults.

Since 1960, compulsive eaters have found a solution through OA. OA meetings are held worldwide. Go to the All About Meetings page to search for meetings in your area, and to the Online/Telephone Meetings page to search for those meetings.

To the Teen

If you have a problem with food, give yourself the following quick quiz. Be honest — you're doing this for YOU!

Are You a Compulsive Overeater?

1. Do you eat as a response to all kinds of feelings — highs, lows and in-betweens?
2. Does your overeating make you miserable?
3. Do your eating habits interfere with your social life; or does your social life revolve around food?
4. Do you eat normally in front of others and binge when you're alone?
5. Do you drift off in class because you're thinking about food or losing weight?
6. Do you hate gym and other activities because of your weight?
7. Do you spend more than you would like to on junk food?
8. Do you sometimes steal food — or money to buy it?
9. Do you pass up dances and other events because you can't fit into nice clothes?
10. Do you resent people's comments and "helpful suggestions" about your weight or the amount of food you eat?

If your answer to most of these questions is yes, you're not alone. Many people, including teenagers, suffer from the disease of compulsive eating — a disease from which we can recover.

Helpful Publications

OA Members Come in All Sizes: Welcome, Whatever Your Problem with Food

Many Symptoms, One Solution

To the Teen

To the Teen Questionnaire

The following PDF files have been used successfully in OA with various young age groups:

Billy's Story pamphlet

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous: A Kid's View booklet

Reaching Out to Young People

If you are an OA member seeking information about reaching out to young people, please email youthinfo@oa.org. The following resources might also be helpful:

2007 Youth in OA e-newsletter

2008 Youth in OA e-newsletter

Suggested Meeting Format for Young People (use with Suggested Meeting Format)

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