We of Overeaters Anonymous have found in this Fellowship a way to recover from the disease of compulsive overeating. We use “compulsive overeating” and “compulsive eating” inter- changeably. These terms include, but are not limited to, overeating, under-eating, food addiction, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, over- exercising, purging, and other compulsive food behaviors. No mat- ter what form our disease takes, anyone having a problem with food can find help in Overeaters Anonymous. After repeated failures to control our eating and our weight, we now have a solution that works. Our solution is a program of recovery—a program of Twelve simple Steps. By following these Steps, thousands of OA members have stopped eating compulsively.

In OA we have no program of diets and exercise, no scales, no magic pills. What we do have to offer is far greater than any of these things—a Fellowship in which we find and share the healing power of love. Our common bonds are two: the disease of compulsive eat- ing from which we all have suffered, and the solution that we all are finding as we live by the Principles embodied in these Steps. Since our program is based on the Twelve Steps, we would like to offer here a study of those Steps, sharing how we follow them to recover from compulsive eating. We hope in this way to provide help for those who still suffer from our disease.

If you think you may be a compulsive eater, give yourself a chance for recovery by trying the OA program. Our way of life, based on the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, has brought us physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that we don’t hesitate to call miraculous. What works for us will work for you too.