Reliability and validity of a General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for adults in a Romanian population

Abstract

Background Nutritional knowledge assessment is an important component in nutrition research, and a prerequisite for the implementation of many policies and programs aimed at improving eating behavior. In order to generate objective results, validated tools for a given population must be employed. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of a nutrition knowledge questionnaire for Romanian adults. Methods Kleimann's version of a General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire, was translated and adapted to Romanian language, culture, and cuisine. The final format was developed in several steps and used four components: internal and external reliability were assessed in a general population sample (n1 = 412), respectively in a subgroup (n2 = 46) from Component 1; Component 3 assessed construct validity (n3 = 96) using the "known-groups" method; Component 4 (convergent validity, n4 = 508) tested the association between socio-demographic characteristics and nutrition knowledge. Results The overall internal reliability was 0.878 and the external reliability was >0.880 in all sections, and overall. Specialists had higher scores than nonspecialists, with a very large effect size. In the general population, females scored higher than males, and middle-aged and older adults scored higher than young adults. Higher scores were associated with higher levels of education. The characteristics of individuals prone to giving wrong answers were: males (beta = 0.170), high school or less (beta = 0.167), and no training in nutrition (beta = 0.154). Conclusions The Romanian version of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for measuring nutrition knowledge in adults.

Nutrition Knowledge among College of Basic Education Students in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The results showed low internal reliability for the section on dietary recommendations and the section on everyday healthy food choices, with Cronbach's alpha = 0.64 and 0.63, respectively, which is lower than the threshold. These results are in line with reported values [ 31 – 33 ]. Other studies sharing similar results have attributed them to the differing educational backgrounds of participants due to their heterogeneity, and divergent understandings of nutrition messages due to an absence of unified dietary guidelines and insufficient nutrition education [ 33 , 38 , 40 ].…”

“…These results are in line with reported values [ 31 – 33 ]. Other studies sharing similar results have attributed them to the differing educational backgrounds of participants due to their heterogeneity, and divergent understandings of nutrition messages due to an absence of unified dietary guidelines and insufficient nutrition education [ 33 , 38 , 40 ]. Some authors have stated that a reliability coefficient of 0.63 could be acceptable [ 36 ].…”

“…Although both males and females had a poor level of knowledge, the females achieved a higher mean score of knowledge (41.10 ± 9.29) than the males (38.72 ± 10.48). Similar findings were observed in previous studies [ 31 , 33 , 41 , 42 ]. It is not surprising that female students know more about food and nutrition than males, since they are more likely to be concerned about their body image and weight [ 42 , 43 ].…”

“…is questionnaire was selected because it has been reported as being a valid tool amongst UK adults [25]. Furthermore, it has also been adopted and validated amongst other populations [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. An internal reliability test was performed for each section and the overall questionnaire; the results were adequate and comparable to previous studies, as presented in Table 1.…”

Demographic, Anthropometric and Food Behavior Data towards Healthy Eating in Romania

“…This is similar to the results of Whitelock et al [54], where the participants described efforts focusing on avoiding foods high in fats and sugar content. More women than men had perceptions compliant with a healthy diet, possibly because they have better nutritional knowledge and interest for it [27,55,56].…”