The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire: factorial validity and association with Body Mass Index in Dutch children aged 6–7

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a parent-report measure designed to assess variation in eating style among children. In the present study we translated the CEBQ and examined its factor structure in a sample of parents of 6- and 7-year-old children in the Netherlands. Additionally, associations between the mean scale scores of the instrument and children's body mass index (BMI) were assessed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In total, 135 parents of primary school children aged 6 and 7 completed the questionnaire (response rate 41.9%). Children's BMI was converted into standardised z-scores, adjusted for child gender and age to examine the association between mean scale scores and child weight status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results generally confirmed the theoretical factor structure, with acceptable internal reliability and between-subscale correlations. Linear regression analyses revealed that BMI z-scores were positively associated with the 'food approach' subscales of the CEBQ (food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, emotional overeating) (β's 0.15 to 0.22) and negatively with 'food avoidant' subscales (satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, emotional undereating, and food fussiness) (β's -0.09 to -0.25). Significant relations with child BMI z-scores were found for food responsiveness (p = 0.02), enjoyment of food (p = 0.03), satiety responsiveness (p = 0.01) and slowness in eating (p = 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results support the use of the CEBQ as a psychometrically sound tool for assessing children's eating behaviours in Dutch children and the study demonstrates its applicability in overweight-related studies.</p

Perceived rules and accessibility: measurement and mediating role in the association between parental education and vegetable and soft drink intake

Background: The existence of socioeconomic differences in dietary behaviors is well documented. However, studies exploring the mechanisms behind these differences among adolescents using comprehensive and reliable measures of mediators are lacking. The aims of this study were (a) to assess the psychometric properties of new scales assessing the perceived rules and accessibility related to the consumption of vegetables and soft drinks and (b) to explore their mediating role in the association between parental education and the corresponding dietary behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey including 440 adolescents from three counties in Norway (mean age 14.3 years (SD = 0.6)) was conducted using a web-based questionnaire. Principal component analysis, test-retest and internal reliability analysis were conducted. The mediating role of perceived accessibility and perceived rules in the association between parental education and the dietary behaviors was explored using linear regression analyses. Results: Factor analyses confirmed two separate subscales, named “accessibility” and “rules”, both for vegetables and soft drinks (factor loadings >0.60). The scales had good internal consistency reliability (0.70 – 0.87). The test–retest reliability of the scales was moderate to good (0.44 – 0.62). Parental education was inversely related to the consumption of soft drinks and positively related to the consumption of vegetables. Perceived accessibility and perceived rules related to soft drink consumption were found to mediate the association between parental education and soft drink consumption (47.5 and 8.5 % of total effect mediated). Accessibility of vegetables was found to mediate the association between parental education and the consumption of vegetables (51 % of total effect mediated). Conclusion: The new scales developed in this study are comprehensive and have adequate validity and reliability; they are therefore considered appropriate for use among 13 – 15 year-olds. Parents, in particular those with a low educational background, should be encouraged to increase the accessibility of vegetables and to decrease the accessibility of soft drinks, in particular during dinner. Enforcing parental rules limiting soft drink intake in families with low parental education also appears relevant

Perceived rules and accessibility: measurement and mediating role in the association between parental education and vegetable and soft drink intake

Background The existence of socioeconomic differences in dietary behaviors is well documented. However, studies exploring the mechanisms behind these differences among adolescents using comprehensive and reliable measures of mediators are lacking. The aims of this study were (a) to assess the psychometric properties of new scales assessing the perceived rules and accessibility related to the consumption of vegetables and soft drinks and (b) to explore their mediating role in the association between parental education and the corresponding dietary behaviors. Methods A cross-sectional survey including 440 adolescents from three counties in Norway (mean age 14.3 years (SD = 0.6)) was conducted using a web-based questionnaire. Principal component analysis, test-retest and internal reliability analysis were conducted. The mediating role of perceived accessibility and perceived rules in the association between parental education and the dietary behaviors was explored using linear regression analyses. Results Factor analyses confirmed two separate subscales, named “accessibility” and “rules”, both for vegetables and soft drinks (factor loadings >0.60). The scales had good internal consistency reliability (0.70–0.87). The test–retest reliability of the scales was moderate to good (0.44–0.62). Parental education was inversely related to the consumption of soft drinks and positively related to the consumption of vegetables. Perceived accessibility and perceived rules related to soft drink consumption were found to mediate the association between parental education and soft drink consumption (47.5 and 8.5 % of total effect mediated). Accessibility of vegetables was found to mediate the association between parental education and the consumption of vegetables (51 % of total effect mediated). Conclusion The new scales developed in this study are comprehensive and have adequate validity and reliability; they are therefore considered appropriate for use among 13–15 year-olds. Parents, in particular those with a low educational background, should be encouraged to increase the accessibility of vegetables and to decrease the accessibility of soft drinks, in particular during dinner. Enforcing parental rules limiting soft drink intake in families with low parental education also appears relevant