Obesity perception survey among youth in Turkey: instrument development and test-retest reliability

Abstract

Background/aim: We aimed to develop an instrument that can assess young people?s perceptions and opinions regarding causes and consequences of obesity and the role of individuals, families, communities, and government in addressing obesity. Materials/methods: A 36-question (101-item) survey was developed by adopting, translating, and revising multiple-choice or Likert-scale questions from existing surveys to assure construct cross-cultural validity. A two-factor mixed effects model estimated intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) to measure test-retest reliability of questions administered (two weeks apart) to a convenient sample of Istanbul high-school and university students, ages 15-25 (N=122). Results: ICC mean for university and high-school was 0.70 and 0.63, respectively. University students were more consistent in relating the problem to society and public policy preferences. High-school students were more consistent in relating the problem and solution to themselves and their immediate environments. Using 0.5 cutoff for ICC?s lower 95% confidence limit, followed by re-evaluation of question-flow, a 19-question (36-item) survey was retained for adolescents; 26-question (52-item) survey for young adults. Conclusion: While survey items have moderate-to-excellent reliability for high-school and university students, it can be administered longitudinally for suggesting changes to policies and interventions, and after cross-cultural validation, can be utilized for comparing obesity perceptions across different populations.

Instruments for measuring health awareness in young people: A systematic review

“…Se encontró también un cuestionario auto determinado, la escala de concientización sexual para medir las tendencias, así como disposiciones asociadas a la atención a procesos sexuales, realizaron dos estudios en jóvenes para validar la escala, se obtuvieron resultados similares de validez y confiabilidad en ambos estudios obteniendo resultados favorables para el uso del instrumento (30). Por último, se incluyó un instrumento el cual mide la percepción sobre obesidad en población joven tuvo Alpha de Cronbach aceptables de 0.63 a 0.70 (31) .…”

Prevalence of Obesity and the Factors Associated with Low Obesity Awareness among Urban Adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe

“…An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the adolescents’ socio-demographics, food habits, nutrition knowledge, and physical activity levels (PAL). The questionnaires were adapted to collect data on obesity perception (OP) scores (perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits of obesity prevention) [ 27 ], self-efficacy and barriers to change [ 28 ], nutrition knowledge scores (NKS) [ 29 ], food habits scores (FHS) [ 30 ], and physical activity scores (PAS) [ 31 ], see Appendix A . The final questionnaire had seven sections.…”

“…2.3.3. Self-Efficacy and Barriers to Change This questionnaire was adapted from [27]. The self-efficacy (SE) section aimed at estimating how each student can assume attitudes and behaviors that can improve his or her health status related to nutrition.…”