Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively.

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.

Who Belongs to OA?

OA members experience many different patterns of food behaviors Our symptoms may vary, but we share a common bond: we are powerless over food and our lives are unmanageable. This common problem has led those in OA to seek and find a common solution in the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions and eight tools of Overeaters Anonymous.

What does OA offer?

We in OA believe we have a threefold illness�physical, emotional and spiritual. Tens of thousands have found that OA's Twelve-Step program effects recovery on all three levels.

The Twelve Steps embody a set of principles which, when followed, promote inner change. Sponsors help us understand and apply these principles. As old attitudes are discarded, we often find there is no longer a need for excess food.

Those of us who choose to recover one day at a time practice the Twelve Steps. In so doing, we achieve a new way of life and lasting freedom from our food obsession.

Why is OA anonymous?

Anonymity allows the Fellowship to govern itself through principles rather than personalities. Social and economic status have no relevance in OA; we are all compulsive overeaters. Anonymity at the level of press, radio, television and other media of communication provides assurance that OA membership will not be disclosed.

How is OA funded?

Overeaters Anonymous has no dues or fees for membership. It is entirely self-supporting through literature sales and member contributions. Most groups "pass the basket" at meetings to cover expenses. OA does not solicit or accept outside contributions.

Is OA a religious organization?

OA is not a religious society, since it requires no definite religious belief as a condition of membership. OA has among its membership people of many religious faiths as well as atheists and agnostics.

The OA recovery program is based on acceptance of certain spiritual values. Members are free to interpret these values as they think best, or not to think about them at all if they so choose.

Many individuals who come to OA have reservations about accepting any concept of a power greater than themselves. OA experience has shown that those who keep an open mind on this subject and continue coming to OA meetings will not find it too difficult to work out their own solution to this very personal matter.

How did OA start?

Her chance meeting with a new neighbor, Jo S., gave Rozanne strength in numbers, even if it was only one person. Together they found another compulsive overeater, Bernice S., and convened the first OA meeting in Hollywood, California, January 19, 1960.

Today, about 6,500 OA groups meet each week in over 65 countries. With OA divided into 10 regions worldwide and approximately 400 intergroups, it helps thousands of compulsive overeaters find themselves through a threefold recovery: physical, emotional and spiritual.

How do OA members lose weight and maintain their normal weight?

While a diet can help us lose weight, it often intensifies the compulsion to overeat. The solution offered by OA does not include diet tips. We don't furnish food plans or diets, counseling services, hospitalization or treatment; nor does OA participate in or conduct research and training in the field of eating disorders. For weight loss, any medically approved eating plan is acceptable.

OA members interested in learning about nutrition or who seek professional advice are encouraged to consult qualified professionals. We may freely use such help, with the assurance that OA supports each of us in our efforts to recover.

What Is O.A./H.O.W.?

H.O.W. stands for Honesty, Openness and Willingness. O.A./H.O.W. is a movement within Overeaters Anonymous whose basic principle is that abstinence is the only means to freedom from compulsive eating and the beginning of a spiritual life.

O.A./H.O.W. began in Phoenix in 1981 as a means of reviving "O.A. VICTORIOUS." Its meeting format is taken from Rozanne's book, I Put My Hand In Yours, centers around the concept of service. Many of the questions used in H.O.W. sponsoring stem from O.A. Plus and Westminster groups. The outline of service came from the O.A. Suffolk County, New York, Sponsor's Guide. (What is O.A./H.O.W.? continued)

The Overeaters Anonymous H.O.W. Concept meeting has been formed to offer the compulsive eater, who accepts the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as a program of recovery, a disciplined and structured approach. The O.A./H.O.W. group is formed in the belief that our disease is absolute and therefore only absolute acceptance of the O.A. program will offer any sustained abstinence to those of us whose compulsion has reached a critical level. Therefore, the O.A./H.O.W. plan of eating, steps, traditions, and tools of recovery are not suggested; rather, we accept them as requirements for our recovery.

Our meetings are dedicated to the concept of remaining Honest, Open-minded, and Willing to listen. This is the H.O.W. of the program. We pray that the collective group conscience and love that these ideals offer us will promote a strong sense of security that will enable us to experience a new unity and wholeness with all those around us. And that the H.O.W. ideal will help us to progress in our program of recovery on a daily basis.

To be certain, much of our strength is found in the structure of meetings and in the daily adherence to the program as it is written in our literature. H.O.W. meetings firmly understand that after our recovery has begun through abstinence and the taking of the first three steps, our further surrender to the additional steps of recovery offers us a promise of happiness, contentment, and achievement in all areas of our lives.

We ensure our continued and sustained abstinence from compulsive eating by being forever aware that God is doing for us what we have never been able to do for ourselves. May God, as each of us understands Him, open our minds and our hearts to the love, which is manifest in this room, Amen. Those of us who work the O.A./H.O.W. Program use the following guidelines for abstinence.

1. We do not write our own food plan. We use a food plan given to us by a nutritionist, dietician, or doctor. We discuss it with our sponsor. We do not pick one that allows any of our binge foods. If some food on our plan becomes a problem, we avoid it. We do not skip meals, switch meals, or combine meals. We do not deviate or manipulate our food plan in any way. If we need to change our committed food during the day, we call a sponsor.

2. We weigh and measure all our portions so that there is no guesswork. We do not measure by eye. We use a measuring cup, spoon, and a scale.

3. We weigh ourselves once a month until we reach goal weight and once a week on maintenance.

4. Unless advised otherwise by our doctor, we take a multi-vitamin and drink 64 ounces of water a day.

5. We do not drink alcohol.

6. We do not use foods containing sugar, except if sugar is listed fifth or beyond on the ingredients label.

7. Above all, we do not vacillate or water down the disciplined nature of the H.O.W. Program. It is not the extra string bean that counts; it is the decision to take it.