Evaluating the Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire in a Sample of the Iranian Population

Abstract Introduction: The Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) is a comprehensive instrument used to assess appetitive traits. This study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the AEBQ in a sample of the Iranian population. Methods This research is a validation study using data from the Health Integrated System (HIS) of adults in Kermanshah city, West of Iran. The AEBQ was completed by 898 individuals in telephone interviews. To evaluate content validity, the indices of relevancy, clarity, and comprehensiveness of the questionnaire were calculated. The construct validity of the questionnaire was also assessed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. To evaluate the reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha were calculated. Results The overall relevancy, clarity and comprehensiveness of the questionnaire were 83%, 86% and 100% respectively. The Cronbach's alpha of questionnaire was 85%. Seven scales were identified based on the exploratory factor analysis. The items of the two scales "hunger" and "food responsiveness" were loaded on one factor. Conclusion The present study has shown that the Persian version of AEBQ is a suitable questionnaire with acceptable validity and reliability to be used as a criterion for assessing a wide range of appetite-related eating behaviors in Iranian people older than 18 years of age.