Development and Validation of the Adaptive Eating Scale: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses

PurposeAdaptive eating refers to internally regulated eating that is enjoyable and gently guided by the nutritional quality of foods. Despite growing interest in this construct, there is currently no validated scale to measure adaptive eating among US college students aged ≥18 years. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Adaptive Eating Scale (AES) in a diverse sample of US college students.DesignThirty-seven items were developed to comprise the AES. Students completed AES and measures of intuitive eating, mental health, diet, and anthropometrics.SampleEight hundred and forty-nine university students aged ≥18 years, from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.AnalysisThe sample was divided randomly into two. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was completed on subsample A (n = 424). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted on subsample B (n = 425) to confirm factor structure from subsample A.ResultsEFA showed 17 items representing gentle nutrition (GN), unpreoccupied by food cravings (UBFC), enjoyment of food (EOF), and honoring hunger (HH) explained 63.1% of the variance. CFA showed a bifactor model comprising one global factor and four orthogonal factors (GN, UBFC, EOF, and HH) had excellent fit [CFI = 0.972, RMSEA = 0.051, SRMR = 0.048]. GN, EOF, and HH were reliable, and significantly associated with each other, intuitive eating, emotional eating, weight status, and mental health.ConclusionResults showed that AES is best conceptualized as a multidimensional measure with one general factor and specific factors representing GN, EOF, and HH.