Cross-cultural validity of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2: Psychometric evaluation in the Greek-Cypriot population

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Intuitive eating is defined by eating response to physiological hunger and satiety cues rather than situational or emotional cues and it has been linked to psychological well-being. The 23-item Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2) is commonly used to assess the concept of intuitive eating. OBJECTIVE: To develop the Greek version of the IES-2 questionnaire and to test its psychometric qualities. METHODS: Forward and backward translations into Greek and English were completed. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied to understand the underlying factor structure of the IES-2, whilst internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha test. The concurrent validity was assessed by evaluating the correlation among the IES-2 and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 Item (EAT-26) questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 379 adults (mean age = 34 years) participated. EFA gave a three-factor structure with the total variance explained being 54.4%. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.87 for the IES-2 total score, as well as 0.90, 0.84 and 0.70 for the IES-2 subscales. The revised IES-2 total score was significantly correlated with EAT-26 total score (rs = –0.46, p < 0.01) and BMI (rs = –0.46, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In this sample, the Greek version of the IES-2 showed good psychometric qualities and can be regarded a helpful tool for examining adult intuitive eating behaviours.