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Introducing OA to Health Care Professionals

Do you have clients or patients who continue to overeat in spite of your advice urging them to control their weight? Overeaters Anonymous does not concern itself with the medical aspects of obesity, or of eating disorders, but with the compulsive nature of overeating. Thus our approach complements medical care. OA claims no nutritional expertise. Our members are referred to medical and nutritional professionals for guidance and for approval of a food plan.

Overeaters Anonymous is a proven program based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. Many people have achieved their desired weight loss and maintained it by following this program of recovery.

OA believes that compulsive overeating is a threefold disease: physical, emotional, and spiritual, which, like alcoholism and drug abuse, can be arrested, but not cured. Our goal is to abstain from compulsive eating one day at a time. We do this through daily personal contact, meetings and by following the twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, changing only the words "alcohol" and "alcoholic" to "food" and "compulsive overeater".

Although there is a spiritual side of OA, it is not a religious program. Everyone is welcome. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions.

(For more information refer to OA Pamphlet #753 Introducing OA to Health Care Professionals.)

Is OA for You? / To the Healthcare Professional

© (July 25, 1996) Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.; World Service Office. Copyright may not be reproduced in any manner without written permission of OA Inc.