Re-evaluation and revision of the Eating Habits Questionnaire.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Eating Disorders

Background:

• Orthorexia nervosa is an obsession with healthy eating, evaluated using the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ).
• Previous EHQ development excluded one item and showed variations in evaluation.
• This study re-evaluates the original 35-item EHQ in fashion models and university students, where English is often a second language.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the original 35-item Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ).
• To develop a revised, valid, and reliable version of the EHQ for use in diverse, non-native English-speaking populations.
• To assess the factorial and convergent validity, and reliability of the revised EHQ.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was administered to 163 female models and 243 non-models.
• Participants completed the EHQ, Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), and SCOFF questionnaire.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze factorial validity and refine the EHQ.

Main Results:

• The revised 18-item Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ-18) demonstrated acceptable model fit.
• The EHQ-18 showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and significant positive correlations with EDI subscales.
• The EHQ-18 exhibited potential discriminant validity across diverse groups, including those for whom English is a second language.

Conclusions:

• The study recommends the 18-item EHQ-18 as a valid and reliable measure for assessing orthorexia nervosa.
• The EHQ-18's development addresses potential influences from previous item exclusion and factor structure variations.
• The findings support the use of EHQ-18 in diverse populations, particularly those where English is a second language.