Development of NQ-A, Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents, to assess dietary quality and food behavior

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition quotient for (NQ-A) to assess overall dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Methods: Development of the NQ-A was undertaken in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ-A checklist were selected based on literature reviews, results of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, dietary guidelines for Korean adolescents, expert in-depth interviews, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 213 middle and high school students participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 41 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearsons correlation coefficients between the responses to the checklist items along with nutritional status of the were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for the nation-wide survey. A total of 1,547 from 17 cities completed the checklist questionnaire. Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ-A model. Results: Nineteen items were finalized as the checklist items for the NQ-A. Checklist items were composed of five factors (balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice). The five-factor structure accounted for 47.2% of the total variance. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ-A and five-factor scores were calculated based on the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Conclusion: Nutrition Quotient for (NQ-A) would be a useful instrument for evaluating dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Further research on NQ-A is needed to reflect changes in adolescents food behavior and environment.