Turkish validity and reliability of family eating and activity habits questionnaire

Aim: Overweight and obesity in childhood is an serious health problem. It causes many health problems; especially cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Family eating behaviors, habits, home eating and physical activity environment play an important role in shaping children's behaviors and determining their weight status. Identification of these factors may be effective in the treatment and prevention of weight problems in children. In the literature review, a Turkish scale which could measure these factors could not be reached. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire-Revised. Materials and Method: The text of scale was translated into Turkish using goup translation and back translation method. Firstly, as a pilot study group, pre-test and retests were applied to the parents of students from different schools in Adana with a three-week interval. Then; in the main study group, the scale was applied to the parents in schools and parents of children in outpatient clinics. Findings: In the pilot study; Cronbach's alpha value was 0,787 showing internal consistency, and the r value was calculated as 0,761 (p<0,001) according to the Pearson correlation analysis showing the correlation between the pretest and retest. In the main study, Cronbach's alpha value was 0,780. The total scores of overweight/obese children were significantly higher than the total scores of normal-weight children. The total score of the scale was able to determine the weight status of the child with 71 % success. Conclusion: According to these validity and reliability values; it can be suggested that Turkish version of Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire-Revised can be used in a similar Turkey population. Key words: family eating and activity habits questionnaire, childhood obesity, FEAHQ-R