Assessing Initial Validity and Reliability of a Beverage Intake Questionnaire in Hispanic Preschool-Aged Children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Dietary Assessment
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Accurate dietary intake reporting is crucial for understanding the link between high-calorie beverage consumption and weight gain.
• There is a significant need for validated, brief quantitative tools to assess dietary intake in minority pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the adult Beverage Intake Questionnaire (BEVQ-15) for Hispanic preschool-aged children, creating the BEVQ-PS.
• To evaluate the validity and test-retest reliability of the BEVQ-PS in children aged 3 to 5 years.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study modified the BEVQ-15 into the BEVQ-PS, assessing 12 beverage categories.
• 109 Hispanic mothers completed a 4-day food intake record (FIR) and two BEVQ-PS surveys over two weeks.
• Validity was assessed by comparing BEVQ-PS data with FIR data using paired t tests and Pearson's correlation; reliability was assessed using Pearson's correlation between the two BEVQ-PS surveys.

Main Results:

• The BEVQ-PS demonstrated validity, with non-significant mean differences and significant correlations for water, sweetened juice drinks, whole milk, sweetened carbonated drinks, and total sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) compared to FIR.
• Test-retest reliability was met for most beverage categories, including total beverages and SSB, with significant correlations between the two BEVQ-PS administrations.
• Specific beverage categories like flavored milk and tea showed less consistent reliability.

Conclusions:

• The BEVQ-PS is a reliable tool for researchers and clinicians to assess sugar-sweetened beverage, water, and whole milk intake in Hispanic children.
• Further modifications to the BEVQ-PS may be needed to comprehensively assess total beverage intake.