PURPOSE: To examine the reliability and validity of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) for adolescents and assess eating habits in the context of the Food Pyramid. METHODS: Subjects were 446 students (81.2% female) attending three middle schools (sixth to eighth grades). Over half (56.9%) were African-American. Reliability was assessed with 48-h and 2-week retests on two subsamples (n = 62) and validity was assessed by comparison with three 24-h recalls on an additional subsample (n = 24) and by factor analysis. The EHQ is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 83 food items and questions assessing food habits and food preparation style. RESULTS: Internal validity, determined with factor analysis, found that 10 factors explained 81.3% of the variance in eating habits. Overall perfect agreement between food groups reported on the 24-h recall and on the EHQ was 56%. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach alpha, ranged from .60 to .89. Test-retest correlations were highest at 48 h, ranging from .46 to .85 for the 10 factors. Adolescents ate more servings of fats and sugars (11.2) and meats (6.0) and fewer breads (5.2) and vegetables (1.6) than recommended in Food Pyramid guidelines. In addition, subjects consumed more high-fat protein than low-fat protein servings. CONCLUSIONS: The EHQ is a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire that has been tested with African-American and white adolescents in the Southeast. It showed that adolescents consume higher than recommended daily servings of fats, sweets, and meats and lower than recommended servings of vegetables and breads.
PURPOSE: To examine the reliability and validity of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) for adolescents and assess eating habits in the context of the Food Pyramid. METHODS: Subjects were 446 students (81.2% female) attending three middle schools (sixth to eighth grades). Over half (56.9%) were African-American. Reliability was assessed with 48-h and 2-week retests on two subsamples (n = 62) and validity was assessed by comparison with three 24-h recalls on an additional subsample (n = 24) and by factor analysis. The EHQ is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 83 food items and questions assessing food habits and food preparation style. RESULTS: Internal validity, determined with factor analysis, found that 10 factors explained 81.3% of the variance in eating habits. Overall perfect agreement between food groups reported on the 24-h recall and on the EHQ was 56%. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach alpha, ranged from .60 to .89. Test-retest correlations were highest at 48 h, ranging from .46 to .85 for the 10 factors. Adolescents ate more servings of fats and sugars (11.2) and meats (6.0) and fewer breads (5.2) and vegetables (1.6) than recommended in Food Pyramid guidelines. In addition, subjects consumed more high-fat protein than low-fat protein servings. CONCLUSIONS: The EHQ is a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire that has been tested with African-American and white adolescents in the Southeast. It showed that adolescents consume higher than recommended daily servings of fats, sweets, and meats and lower than recommended servings of vegetables and breads.
Authors: Deborah Leachman Slawson; William T Dalton; Taylor McKeehan Dula; Jodi Southerland; Liang Wang; Mary Ann Littleton; Diana Mozen; George Relyea; Karen Schetzina; Elizabeth F Lowe; James M Stoots; Tiejian Wu Journal: Contemp Clin Trials Date: 2015-04-30 Impact factor: 2.226
Authors: Suzanne Domel Baxter; Amy E Paxton-Aiken; Joshua M Tebbs; Julie A Royer; Caroline H Guinn; Christopher J Finney Journal: Nutr Res Date: 2012-08-13 Impact factor: 3.315
Authors: Suzanne Domel Baxter; Albert F Smith; Michele D Nichols; Caroline H Guinn; James W Hardin Journal: Nutr Res Date: 2006-06 Impact factor: 3.315
Authors: Ambika Satija; Frank B Hu; Liza Bowen; Ankalmadugu V Bharathi; Mario Vaz; Dorairaj Prabhakaran; K Srinath Reddy; Yoav Ben-Shlomo; George Davey Smith; Sanjay Kinra; Shah Ebrahim Journal: Public Health Nutr Date: 2015-02-20 Impact factor: 4.022