RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To examine the validity and reliability of the 24-item Food Habits Questionnaire (FHQ) in a worksite setting. DESIGN: 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. SETTING: Three locations within a multisite industrial equipment company. PARTICIPANTS: 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. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 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. ANALYSIS: 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 AND IMPLICATIONS: 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.
