Search

Objective: To establish reliability and construct and discriminant validity of selected factors adapted from the Health and Taste Attitudes Questionnaire developed in Finland and the Food Choice Questionnaire developed in England for use with low-income mothers in the United States. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children sites in south-central Wisconsin. Participants: A convenience sample of 211 nonpregnant non-Hispanic black and white women. Variables Measured: Predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model. Analysis: Factor analyses. Results: After modification, the resulting measurement models of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs demonstrated good reliability and construct and discriminant validity. These models showed excellent model fit (g2/df range 1.5-2.0, root mean square error of approximate range .05-.07, non-normed fit index range .97-1.0, comparative fit index range .98-1.0, incremental fit index range .98-1.0), with all factor loadings significant (P < .001). Items previously developed with European adults demonstrated different pattern structures in predisposing and enabling constructs but the same structures for reinforcing construct when applied to low-income mothers in the United States. Conclusion and Implication: This modified instrument provides a tool for researchers and educators to further explore factors affecting fat intake behaviors in low-income mothers. KEY WORDS: validity, reliability, low-income women

The Diet Habit Questionnaire (DHQ) developed by Kristal et al has been widely used to measure fat intake behaviors. Our prior work revealed the poor psychometric properties of the DHQ when used with young low-income women. The purpose of this study was to understand young low-income mothers' comprehension of the instrument. Data were collected via face-to-face cognitive interviews. Thirty black and white participants of WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) aged 18 to 45 years were recruited in 6 counties in southern Wisconsin. Three common themes emerged: lack of clarity, inappropriate assumptions, and vague response categories. WIC participants indicated that many questions were confusing because they contained complicated syntax or technical terms that were unclear. Furthermore, there were multiple interpretations to some questions. The original instrument required subjects to think about the same kind of foods between anchoring questions and embedded items. However, subjects in this study interpreted foods listed on the anchoring questions differently from the foods listed on the embedded items. There were also numerous interpretations of response categories. Our results suggest that cognitive interview is a useful technique for instrument development and there is a need to revise the DHQ to better assess the fat intake behaviors of the WIC participants. This study was supported by UW-Madison School of Nursing and Department of Nutritional Sciences.

The Diet Habit Questionnaire (DHQ) was developed to measure 5 dimensions of fat intake behaviors: substitution of specially manufactured low-fat foods, modification of meat, avoiding fried foods, replacing high-fat foods with fruits and vegetables, and avoiding fat as spread or flavoring. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the DHQ in young low-income mothers. Data were collected via self-administered Block Food Frequency Questionnaire and the DHQ. Nonpregnant African American and white women (N = 113) aged 18 to 45 years were recruited from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in 6 counties in southern Wisconsin. Data analyses were based on 85 subjects because we excluded women who reported daily caloric intake of less than 600 or greater than 3500. Results revealed that the DHQ has poor psychometric properties when used in WIC mothers: substitution of specially manufactured low-fat foods (r = .21, A = .76), modification of meat (r = .24, A = .57), avoiding fried foods (r = .43, A = .75), replacing high-fat foods with fruits and vegetables (r = .27, A = .61), avoiding fat as spread or flavoring (r = -.04, A = .43), and summary scores (r = .38, A = .84). The DHQ should be modified to provide more reliable data in planning and evaluating health promotion and disease prevention programs for this population. This study was supported by UW-Madison School of Nursing and Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Abstract: Low-income women who are overweight and obese are at high risk for long-term retention of weight gain during pregnancy, in part because they may have poor diets and inadequate physical activity, both of which may be exacerbated by stressful situations. This study identified motivators and barriers to healthful eating and physical activity among low-income overweight and obese non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white mothers. Qualitative data were collected via eight focus group interviews. Eighty low-income overweight and obese non-Hispanic black (n=41) and non-Hispanic white (n=39) mothers, age 18 to 35 years, were recruited from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children sites in six counties in Michigan. Personal appearance, fit in clothes, inability to play with their children, and social support were motivating factors for healthful eating and physical activity. Stressful experiences triggered emotional eating and reduced participants'' ability to practice these behaviors. Other factors—for example, wanting quick weight-loss results—made it difficult for these mothers to follow recommended healthful lifestyle practices. Nutrition educators can address these concerns by including information about ways to deal with stress and emotional eating and emphasizing the benefits of healthful eating and physical activity in their program plans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]