Eating Competence among a Select Sample of Brazilian Adults: Translation and Reproducibility Analyses of the Satter Eating Competence Inventory

Abstract

This study aimed to translate and validate the Satter Eating Competence Inventory (ecSI2.0TM) from English to Brazilian Portuguese. The process included three steps: (i) translation and back-translation of the original ecSI2.0TM to Brazilian Portuguese; (ii) evaluation of its reproducibility; (iii) a pilot study to validate the Brazilian version of the Satter Eating Competence Inventory (ecSI2.0TMBR) for a selected sample of the Brazilian adult population (internal consistency and factor validity). The reproducibility (test–retest reliability) was verified using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) obtained by the responses of 32 Brazilian adults. All domains of the ecSI2.0TMBR and the total score showed ICC > 0.8. Considering the entire questionnaire, none of the domains presented significant divergences among the participants’ responses (p < 0.001). In the pilot study with 662 individuals, 74.9% (n= 496) were female, mean age was 40.33 ± 12.55, and they presented a higher level of schooling and income. Analyses revealed Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.869 for the ecSI2.0TMBR total scale, 0.793 for Eating Attitudes, 0.527 for Internal Regulation, 0.728 for Food Acceptance, and 0.822 for Contextual Skills. In general, the ecSI2.0™BR presented good acceptability, showing total floor and ceiling effects of ≤0.6%. Factor validity was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. The four domains presented a good fit in the confirmatory factor analysis: RMSEA = 0.0123 (95% CI: 0–0.0266); CFI = 0.998; χ2 = 75.9; df = 69; p = 0.266. The ecSI2.0TMBR is the first tool designed to measure eating competence (EC) in the Brazilian population, showing good reproducibility and internal consistency. We expect the ecSI2.0TMBR will support innovative research to investigate the association of EC and health outcomes, as well as new strategies based on emerging behavioral theories to enhance nutritional education policy.

Eating Competence Associated with Food Consumption and Health Outcomes among Brazilian Adult Population

“…Only the Internal Regulation component presented lower Cronbach’s alpha (0.543), but the total questionnaire showed good internal consistency ( Table 1 ). A previous study with a smaller sample of Brazilian adults ( n = 662, 74.9% female) using ecSI2.0™BR showed similar results as Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.869 for the ecSI2.0™BR total scale; 0.793 for Eating Attitudes; 0.527 for Internal Regulation; 0.728 for Food Acceptance; and 0.822 for Contextual Skills [ 21 ]. The internal regulation domain is composed of only two statements.…”

“…Researchers used a validated Brazilian-Portuguese version of the ecSI2.0™ [ 21 ] to develop a questionnaire to associate EC with sociodemographic information, health outcomes, and food consumption. After the questionnaire’s validation, it was applied to a nationwide sample of the Brazilian adult population.…”

“…After the agreement among the judges, the final version of the questionnaire (including the ecSI2.0™BR, food consumption, and health outcome items) was applied in a convenience sample of 32 individuals answering twice (58.6 ± 43.2 h interval) to confirm the reproducibility of the questionnaire [ 21 ]. The reproducibility of health outcomes was not evaluated because it is an internal characteristic that does not change its perception in a short period.…”

“…The ecSI2.0™ is translated into Arabic, German, Japanese, Finnish, and Spanish [ 20 ]. It was recently translated into the Brazilian-Portuguese language, and its reproducibility was verified with a sample of the Brazilian adult population [ 21 ]. EC and its association with food consumption and health outcomes have not been previously studied in the Brazilian population.…”

Eating Competence among Brazilian Adults: A Comparison between before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Researchers used the Brazilian version of the ecSI2.0™BR questionnaire, previously validated with the Brazilian adult population to assess EC [ 24 ] which was approved by an Ethics Committee (CAAE 24415819.2.0000.8101), according to Declaration of Helsinki guidelines. No names or other information that could identify the participant was requested.…”