THE IDIET Instinct Index
How susceptible are you to food cues?
A customized, educational assessment.
One score that maps your instincts against the modern food environment.
Free. No account. Your score appears the moment you finish — and if you’d like it in writing, we’ll email it.
What the Index measures
The Instinct Index is 30-42 self-customizing questions that provide insight into the instincts around your eating. It comprehensively covers all aspects of life and food. What it doesn’t ask is what you weigh. The Index measures susceptibility, not size.
Added up, it’s an index of how strongly your surroundings pull on your appetite — the same territory clinical researchers work in when they study food-cue reactivity and loss-of-control eating. It’s a research-based instrument, not a medical one.
You learn while you answer
And it’s customized to your responses.
Begin the Index and find your starting point for positive change.
As you take the Index, short notes may appear, explaining why a question or your response matters, drawn from the same science the quiz is built on. Learn useful statistics and lifestyle tips.
You can read the notes or skip them. Most people find them useful and informative.
About your score
The Index produces a number from 0 to 100, and the first thing to know about it: it is not a grade. A 90 isn’t an A and a 40 isn’t a D.
It’s a real-life difficulty index. The higher the score, the exponentially harder you likely find it to manage your weight in this environment — an environment, remember, that was built to trigger appetite. The scale is logarithmic, which in plain terms means each step up the scale is a real step, not a nudge.
Your score appears on the final screen with interpretation, and if you enter your email, it arrives in writing as well.
What this Index is not
It isn’t a diagnosis, and it isn’t a test of character. A high score says your instincts respond strongly to your surroundings — which is a fact about the interaction between human neurobiology and engineered abundance, not a verdict on you.
Scores also move with life — stress, sleep, and seasons all show up in them. One useful consequence: iDiet invites members to retake the Index after finishing a class, because the program works on the instincts themselves — food preferences, habits, how easily weight stays managed. A before-and-after pair of scores is a great way to see whether anything fundamental has shifted.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take?
About ten minutes. Questions arrive across four screens, and your answers shape which questions come next — that’s why the count runs from 30 to 42 rather than a fixed number.
Do I need an account or a payment?
No. The Index is free, with no login. Entering your email is optional — it gets your results in writing and subscribes you to the iDiet newsletter: receive practical eating science, unsubscribe anytime, and we never sell addresses.
What’s the difference between this and the 60-second Food Noise Quiz?
Depth. The Food Noise Quiz is a snapshot of one thing — how much food occupies your thoughts. The Index maps the whole instinct landscape: hunger, cravings, cues, habits, and context. If ten minutes sounds like a lot today, start with the snapshot. If you want the full map, you’re in the right place.
Can I retake it?
Yes — it’s designed for that. Retaking after a program or a stretch of change is where the Index gets most interesting.