Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the psychometric properties (internal consistency, factor structure, and convergent validity) of the Spanish version of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ-ES) and its links to disordered eating in young adults. Two university student samples with a total of 487 participants (N1age = 21.75 ± 5.10; N2age = 21.17 ± 6.81) participated in the study. They filled out the Eating Habits Questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Test. Our findings showed that the EHQ-ES demonstrated strong internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α = 0.903 and ω = 0.939. The EHQ-ES consists of 20 items to measure problems associated with healthy eating (α = 0.855, ω = 0.879), knowledge of healthy eating (α = 0.783, ω = 0.826) and feeling positively about healthy eating (α = 0.775, ω = 0.773). In addition, subscales of the EHQ correlated with subscales of the EAT-26, showing that Orthorexia Nervosa is associated with disordered eating in a sample of university students. The current study is the first to describe a Spanish version of the EHQ. This demonstrates that EHQ-ES is a reliable screening tool for Spanish-speaking young adults. Moreover, the EHQ-ES can be a useful instrument for assessing ON in research and clinical practice.
Highlights
There has been an increasing emphasis in society about the importance of food in human health [1]
Concerning the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the analyses were focused on a sample of 286 nursing students from a public Spanish University
This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) (EHQ-ES) in young adults
Summary
There has been an increasing emphasis in society about the importance of food in human health [1]. The involvement of the population in decision making as to the quality and quantity of the food they should and want to include in their diet has become important in everyday life [2] In this context, a new role appears for the individual as an active agent, manager and producer of their own nutritional health. At the same time and due to the promotion of healthy behaviors in general, society is paying more attention or even “excessive attention” to healthy eating [3,4] In this new scenario, a potential disorder emerges, orthorexia nervosa (ON), which was first defined as an extreme form of healthy food consumption [5]. Most individuals with ON report discomfort and feel a higher level of anxiety and panic during mealtimes, which affects their interactions with family and non-family members [8,9]
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