Adaptation and Validation of The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) in Mexican Population

To design efficient strategies for the establishment of healthy eating behaviors, it is necessary to understand the reasons on which individuals base their consumption choices. Thus, the objective of this study was to adapt The Eating Motivation Survey for young Mexicans. A total of 684 young adults aged between 17 and 25 years old (M=20; SD=1.67), 168 males and 516 females participated in the study. The results of the adaptation and validation yielded a short version of the instrument with 11 factors and 34 items with adequate fit indices and internal consistency indices between .74 and .86. It is concluded that the adapted instrument is useful to evaluate Mexican youths and that it can be the starting point for further adaptations in other Hispanic countries and other age groups. Its application will be useful for research in various areas that require the design of strategies to modify eating behavior.