The Eating Identity Type Inventory (EITI). Development and associations with diet

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Nutrition Science
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Healthy eating identities are linked to better diets and intervention receptivity.
• Other eating identity types may also significantly influence dietary behaviors.
• A validated tool is needed to assess diverse eating identities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Eating Identity Type Inventory (EITI).
• To assess factorial validity, reliability, and convergent validity of the EITI.
• To examine the relationship between eating identity types and dietary intake.

Main Methods:

• Developed the EITI to assess four eating identity types: healthy, meat, picky, and emotional.
• Conducted a telephone survey with 968 primary food shoppers completing the EITI and a dietary questionnaire.
• Assessed factorial validity using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability through test-retest measures.

Main Results:

• An 11-item EITI model demonstrated acceptable fit in CFA.
• The EITI showed acceptable internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha .61–.82) and good test-retest reliability (.78–.84).
• Healthy eating identity correlated with healthier diets, while meat and picky identities correlated with less healthy diets.

Conclusions:

• The EITI is a valid and reliable measure for assessing eating identity types.
• Eating identity significantly influences dietary intake, supporting its role in behavioral research.
• The EITI can inform the design of targeted nutrition messages and interventions.