The Turkish Version of the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED)

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of the Turkish version of the KIDMED, which assesses adherence to the Mediterranean diet among children and adolescents, and investigate the relationship between Turkish KIDMED scores and anthropometric measurements. Methods: This research was conducted in a public secondary school in Istanbul in 2018. In the first stage of the study, KIDMED was translated into Turkish and a test-retest method was used for reliability research. Then, the relationship between the anthropometric measurements of Turkish adolescents and KIDMED scores was evaluated in a descriptive and cross-sectional manner. In order to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the Turkish version of KIDMED, it was applied to 36 students (18 M, 18 K; mean age 11 ± 0.69 y) at the beginning and two weeks after and determined the "intraclass correlation coefficient" and "internal consistency". After determining the reliability, the index was applied to 504 students (49.2% M, 50.8% F; 11.66 ± 0.84 years of age) and the relationship between the KIDMED scores and the anthropometric measurements (BMI and waist circumference) was evaluated. Results: No statistical difference was found between the test-retest scores of KIDMED applied two weeks apart (5.6±2.1; 5.8±2.3 p=0.6) and the intraclass correlation coefficient was found to be 0.750 (p<0.001). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.857. A weak but negative correlation was found between the KIDMED scores and BMI and waist circumference values (r=-0.117; p=0.008; r=-0.112; p=0.012, respectively). Conclusion: This is the first study investigating the test-retest reliability of the Turkish KIDMED. Turkish KIDMED can be used in Turkish adolescents to assess the Mediterranean style of eating.