The Reliability and Validity of the Persian Version of Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18) in Overweight and Obese Females

Seyed-Ali Mostafavi; Shahin Akhondzadeh; Mohammad Reza Mohammadi; Mohammad Reza Eshraghian; Saeed Hosseini; Maryam Chamari; Seyed Ali Keshavarz

The Reliability and Validity of the Persian Version of Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18) in Overweight and Obese Females

Iran J Psychiatry. 2017 Apr;12(2):100-108.

Authors

Seyed-Ali Mostafavi¹, Shahin Akhondzadeh¹, Mohammad Reza Mohammadi¹, Mohammad Reza Eshraghian², Saeed Hosseini^{3

4}, Maryam Chamari³, Seyed Ali Keshavarz³

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatry & Psychology Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ School of Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Obesity & Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

PMID: 28659982
PMCID: PMC5483235

Abstract

Objective: The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire Reduced (TFEQ-R18) is one of the most widely used instruments for assessing eating behavior worldwide. The present study aimed at confirming the reliability and validity of the Persian version of TFEQ-R18 among overweight and obese females in Iran. Method: In the present study, 168 overweight and obese females consented to participate. We estimated the anthropometric indices and asked the participants to complete the TFEQ-R18. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Spielberger Anxiety Scale, Appetite Visual Analogue Rating Scale, Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ), Compulsive Eating Scale (CES), and Restraint Eating Visual Analogue Rating Scale were performed simultaneously to assess concurrent validity. Two weeks later, TFEQ-R18 was repeated for 126 participants to assess test-retest reliability. Moreover, we reported the internal consistency and factor analysis of this questionnaire. Results: Using the results of the reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis of the principal component by varimax rotation, we extracted 3 factors: hunger, cognitive restraint, and emotional eating. After removing the Items 16 and 18, the Cronbach's alpha was increased to 0.73 (The Cronbach's alpha of the factors was 0.84, 0.64, and 0.7, respectively). The results of the Pearson correlation revealed a consistency of 0.87 between the test and retest administrations (p = 0.001). Significant positive correlations were observed between TFEQ-R18 and BDI, Spielberger Anxiety Scale, FCQ, CES, appetite, body weight, fat percentage, and calorie intake. Moreover, a negative correlation was observed in Restraint Eating Visual Analogue Rating Scale and muscle percentage.Conclusion: This study aimed at presenting preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Persian version of TFEQ-R18 and its psychometric characteristics. This instrument may be helpful in clinical practice and research studies of obesity, appetite, and eating behavior.

Keywords: Appetite; Eating Behavior; Females; Iran; Obesity; Overweight; Three- Factor Eating Questionnaire Reduced-R18 (TFEQ-R18).