What is Overeaters Anonymous?

Overeaters Anonymous is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from unhealthy relationships with food, eating, and body image. OA encourages and promotes acceptance and inclusivity. All are welcome to join OA and are not excluded because of race, creed, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other attribute. We welcome all who share our compulsion.

There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues; we are free to interpret the word God as we choose.

Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery to those who still suffer.

Compulsive Eating Behaviors

OA members experience a wide range of compulsive eating and food-related behaviors, including:

  • Binge eating, grazing or compulsive eating
  • Obsession with body image, weight, or size
  • Preoccupation with diets, restricting, fasting, or starving
  • Laxative or diuretic abuse
  • Excessive exercise
  • Inducing vomiting after eating
  • Chewing and spitting out food
  • Use of diet pills, shots, or other medical interventions to control weight
  • Constant preoccupation with food

While our symptoms may differ, we in OA share a common problem: the disease of compulsive eating. This common problem has led us to find a common solution in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA, with the support of the nine tools of the program. Welcome!