Questionnaire for measuring risk eating behaviors for excess malnutrition in adolescents

Introduction: there are behavioral factors that predispose to the development of excess malnutrition, and which can be key to the promotion of healthy habits. The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a questionnaire to identify risky eating behaviors in adolescents. Objective: to evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire to measure risky eating behaviors related to excess malnutrition in adolescents in the province of Concepcion, Chile. Materials and methods: quantitative psychometric research with correlational scope; non-experimental, cross-sectional design. The population was composed by adolescents aged 10 to 15 years in the province of Concepcion, from different socio-economic levels. A total of 303 students, chosen by non-probabilistic sampling, responded to the Questionnaire on Alimentary Malnutrition Risk Behaviors, CARME. A subsample of 115 students also answered a body image questionnaire, and 80 were assessed anthropometrically. Exploratory factor analyses and correlation evaluations were performed. Results: four factors were identified for the CARME: response to food, feeding without control, consumption of highly caloric foods, and emotional feeding, with reliability between alpha = 0.64 and alpha = 0.87. Scores showed differences by sex, and relationships with perceived body image (p < 0.05), but not with nutritional status. Conclusions: the evidence supports the construct validity, reliability and criteria validity of CARME. The questionnaire would be appropriate to measure dietary risk behaviors for overweight and obesity in adolescents. However, no associations were found between nutritional status and questionnaire dimensions.