Psychometric Properties of Eating Behaviour Instruments for Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Although eating behaviour in children, adolescents and adults has been linked to changes in body mass, eating disorders and non-communicable diseases, there is still uncertainty about how this behaviour has been measured in populations aged 60 and over, who are often exposed to age-related physiological and cognitive changes, increased malnutrition risk and underrepresented in psychometric research.

To analyse how eating behaviour has been investigated in people aged 60 and over.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN), three independent researchers selected articles from four databases from 2000 to the present.

(1) Studies on adaptation, development, or evaluation of psychometric properties of eating behaviour instruments; (2) Studies with participants aged ≥ 60 years, or with a significant proportion/stratified results for this group; (3) Publications in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; and (4) Articles published from 2000 to 2024.

(1) Studies on food consumption; (2) Instruments for diagnosing eating disorders; and (3) Non-original articles.

Eight instruments were identified for assessing eating behaviour in older adults, with the majority developed in Europe. Methodological shortcomings were present across all instruments, particularly in the areas of development, content validity, internal validity and consistency.

All instruments exhibit questionable methodological robustness, highlighting the need for more rigorous and culturally sensitive approaches to the development and adaptation of tools for this population.