Turkish Psychometric Properties of the Predictor Scales Affecting Adolescent Obesity

ABSTRACT

Adolescent obesity is one of the most important public health problems today. Identifying factors that affect obesity in adolescents and developing programs to prevent obesity are very important. This research aims to test Turkish psychometric properties of the scales to predict adolescent obesity (Healthy Lifestyle Choices Scale, Perceived Healthy Lifestyle Difficulty Scale, Activity Knowledge Scale, Nutrition Knowledge Scale, Healthy Lifestyle Attitude Scale, Healthy Lifestyle Belief Scale). The psychometric properties of the Scales were tested test-re-test reliability, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the item-total correlation, and the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The relationship between the Scales was measured using the Spearman’s correlation analysis. The level of internal consistency of the scales to predict adolescent obesity was found good. The goodness of fit values of the Belief Scale were measured as significantly high (χ2 = 177.24, df = 0.99, χ2/df = 1.79 (p < .001), Comparative Fit Index = 0.91, Goodness of Fit Index = 0.91, Normed Fit Index = 0.92, Incremental Fit Index = 0.92, Root Mean Square Residual = 0.05, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation Residual = 0.05). The psychometric analyses of the Scales were found to be very similar to the results of the original scales. There was a positive correlation between the Choice, Attitude, Belief, Nutrition and Activity Knowledge Scale, and a negative correlation with the Perceived Difficulty scale. The scales which measure adolescent obesity were accepted as valid and reliable measuring tools. This study will be an important resource for researchers working on the adolescent health and obesity.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent obesity
• Lifestyle behaviors
• Obesity prevention
• Psychometric testing
• School health