Usefulness of the food habits questionnaire in a worksite setting.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the validity and reliability of the 24-item Food Habits Questionnaire (FHQ) in a worksite setting.


METHODS
In a longitudinal design, subjects in a 9-month worksite intervention program completed the FHQ pre- and postintervention. A randomly selected subsample also completed 2 sets of 4-day food records.


METHODS
Three locations within a multisite industrial equipment company.


METHODS
Subjects (N = 178) self-selected to participate in the program and completed the FHQ. Mean age was 40.7+/-10.6, 60% were male, and 82% were white, and there were 15 occupational categories. Thirty-two subjects completed 2 sets of 4-day food records.


METHODS
To examine the validity and reliability of the FHQ total scale and subscales in a worksite setting with both men and women from varying socioeconomic levels.


METHODS
Cronbach a coefficient to estimate internal consistency for the total scale and the subscales, Pearson correlation coefficients to estimate test-retest reliabilities and criterion validity.


RESULTS
For the 5 subscales, findings showed generally low internal consistency, moderate test-retest reliability, and low to moderate correlations with food record results. Psychometric properties for the total score of the FHQ included satisfactory internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and criterion validity.


CONCLUSIONS
The FHQ subscales did not perform well and need to be more fully developed. Therefore, the FHQ may best be used as a total scale score to indicate fat-related behaviors.
Spoon
Mary P
MP
Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA. spoonm@unce.umr.edu
Devereux
Paul G
PG
Benedict
Jamie A
JA
Leontos
Carolyn
C
Constantino
Nora
N
Christy
David
D
Snow
Gwenn
G
D000328:Adult; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000178:diet therapy*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*
D004041:Dietary Fats