Validity and reliability of the Food-Life Questionnaire. Short form

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Nutrition Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate measurement of food-related beliefs and attitudes is crucial for public health.
• Existing tools may lack brevity or ease of interpretation.
• The original Food-Life Questionnaire (FLQ) required a shorter, validated version.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the validity and reliability of a short-form version of the Food-Life Questionnaire (FLQ-SF).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the FLQ-SF for measuring food beliefs and attitudes.
• To determine if the FLQ-SF can be used in research and public health program development.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 365 participants (247 females, 118 males) in South Australia.
• Participants completed the original FLQ, the revised FLQ-SF, and measures of food choice and consumption.
• Statistical analyses included factor analysis, correlation, and regression to assess validity and reliability.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis confirmed five factors for the FLQ-SF, explaining 60% of variance and aligning with the original FLQ.
• The FLQ-SF demonstrated moderate correlations with food choice measures (r=.32–.64).
• The FLQ-SF showed criterion-related and incremental validity, predicting unhealthy food consumption beyond the full FLQ (Cronbach's alpha=.75).

Conclusions:

• The 21-item FLQ-SF is a brief, psychometrically sound, and user-friendly instrument.
• The FLQ-SF is suitable for research and informing public health policies and programs aimed at improving dietary behaviors.
• This validated short-form questionnaire offers a practical tool for assessing food-related attitudes and beliefs.