Children’s Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT): a validation study in Finnish children

Abstract

Purpose To validate the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) in the Finnish population. Materials and methods In total 339 children (age 10-15 years) from primary schools in Southern Finland were evaluated at two time points. They answered the ChEAT and SCOFF test questions, and had their weight, height and waist circumference measured. Retesting was performed 4-6 weeks later. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intra-class correlation (ICC), and internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (C-alpha). ChEAT was cross-calibrated against SCOFF and background variables. Factor analysis was performed to examine the factor structure of ChEAT. Results The 26-item ChEAT showed high internal consistency (C-alpha 0.79), however, a 24-item ChEAT showed even better internal consistency (C-alpha 0.84) and test-retest reliability (ICC 0.794). ChEAT scores demonstrated agreement with SCOFF scores (p < 0.01). The mean ChEAT score was higher in overweight children than normal weight (p < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis yielded four factors (concerns about weight, limiting food intake, pressure to eat, and concerns about food), explaining 57.8% of the variance. Conclusions ChEAT is a valid and reliable tool for measuring eating attitudes in Finnish children. The 24-item ChEAT showed higher reliability than the 26-item ChEAT. Level of evidence Level 5, cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Global Proportion of Disordered Eating in Children and Adolescents

“…The main characteristics of the 32 included studies are summarized in the Table. Twenty-six of the studies were cross-sectional, 4 were longitudinal, 1 was a quasi-experimental study, and 1 was a randomized clinical trial . A total of 63 181 participants (51.8% girls) aged 7 to 18 years were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis.…”

“…The remaining 8 studies did not report proportion segmented by gender. In terms of geographical regions, 16 different countries were identified, including 21 studies in Europe, 5 in Asia, 4 in North America, 1 in South America, and 1 in Africa . All the studies were conducted with participants from only 1 country.…”

Caregiver‐reported household food insecurity and child‐reported food insecurity in relation to eating disorder risk factors and symptoms among preadolescent children

“…The reliability and validity of the ChEAT have been shown in various studies (Lommi et al, 2020 ; Maloney et al, 1988 ; Rojo‐Moreno et al, 2011 ; Smolak & Levine, 1994 ). Consistent with previous research, responses for two of the original 26 ChEAT items were dropped from this study: #19 (“I can show self‐control around food”) and #25 (“I enjoy trying new rich foods”) (Lommi et al, 2020 ; Maloney et al, 1988 ; Murphy et al, 2019 ; Smolak & Levine, 1994 ). The resulting ChEAT‐24 total score had a possible range of 0–72, where higher scores indicate more ED risk factors/symptoms.…”

“…Overall, our results reflect small but clinically meaningful differences in ED risk factors/symptoms according to child‐reported FI. For example, Lommi et al ( 2020 ) found that among Finnish children (mean age of 11.6 years), those who screened positive for disordered eating symptoms based on a validated questionnaire had a mean ChEAT‐24 total score that was 4.76 units higher compared to children who screened negative for disordered eating symptoms. These results suggest that a 2.41‐unit increase in ChEAT‐24 total score—the average difference between children with and without self‐reported FI in our study—could explain more than half of the difference between screening positive versus screening negative for disordered eating symptoms.…”

Hydration, Eating Attitudes and Behaviors in Age and Weight-Restricted Youth American Football Players

“…This instrument does not diagnose an ED, but only aids in identifying characteristics of an ED [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. The ChEAT-26 has an internal consistency of 0.79 and for this study was 0.80 [ 36 ].…”