• Nutrition
  • Mental health
  • General medicine

SCOFF-F score

Identifying an eating disorder

The SCOFF-F is the French version of a brief screening questionnaire for eating disorders. It identifies situations requiring an in-depth interview. Its total score determines neither the precise diagnosis nor the severity of a disorder.

Number of questions
5 questions
Approximate duration
1 to 2 minutes
Population
Adults
Modality
Self-administered questionnaire or interview

QuestionnaireSCOFF-F

SELF-QUESTIONNAIRE

Five yes-or-no questions designed to raise suspicion of an eating disorder, with an initial validation focused on anorexia and bulimia.

Are you patient?

You can answer these questions yourself. A result is not a judgment on your diet or your body; any difficulties can be discussed with a professional.

Question 1 / 5

1

Have you ever made yourself sick because you felt uncomfortably full?

Terms of contract

The assessment must maintain a confidential and non-stigmatising environment. Provide an opportunity for discussion after the result, rather than reducing the process to a mere risk label.

Score interpretationSCOFF-F

Each positive answer is worth one point, for a total of 0 to 5. A score of 2 or more indicates a possible eating disorder.

Total score

First reading

  • 0 to 1

    Fewer than two positive responses: below the detection threshold (0 or 1).

  • 2 to 5

    Two or more positive responses: result suggesting a possible eating disorder (2 to 5).

A clinical concern warrants further investigation even if the total is less than two.

The number of positive responses is not a severity scale. The questionnaire alone does not distinguish between anorexia, bulimia, or other disorders. Initial validations focused mainly on women with anorexia or bulimia: performance should not be extrapolated without caution to all genders, all ages, and all forms of disorders.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and references

John F. Morgan, Fiona Reid, J. Hubert Lacey; French validation: Frederico D. Garcia and colleagues

Initial validation: BMJ, 1999; French version: Clinical Nutrition, 2011.

Questionnaires and associated scores

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