Abstract P610: French Canadian Translation and Validation of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents

Background: Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), i.e. eating past the point of satiety, has been associated with the development of excess body weight during childhood, independently of other traditional risk factors. EAH is typically assessed with a laboratory-based standardized protocol which is time-consuming and requires important resources. A questionnaire has been developed to simplify the assessment of EAH among children and adolescents, but it has only been validated in English. Objective: Our aim was to validate a French translation of the EAH Questionnaire among children and adolescents in Montreal, Canada. Methods: Participants aged 7 to 15 years old completed the questionnaire upon recruitment (n=200) and ~4 weeks later (n=159 of 200, 80% of participants). Self-reported body weight and height data was also collected at inclusion and body mass index (BMI) z-scores were computed. The questionnaire includes 14 items divided into three subscales evaluating specific triggers of EAH (fatigue/boredom, negative affect and external cues). The global score for EAH ranges from 14 to 70 points, a higher score indicating a higher tendency to EAH. We assessed internal consistency for the full questionnaire and for each subscale using Cronbach alpha coefficients using data from the first completion of the questionnaire. Temporal stability was evaluated with Pearson correlations between the initial and second completions of the questionnaire, for each of the EAH subscales and for the total score. Association of EAH and BMI z-score was also assessed with Pearson correlation. Results: Participants (50% girls, 100 of 200; 71% white, 142 of 200) were 11.9 ± 2.3 years old, had a mean ±SD total score for EAH of 27.2 ± 9.1 points and a mean ±SD BMI z-score of 0.21 ± 1.05. The total EAH score and the negative affect subscale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.88 and 0.86, respectively), while internal consistency for the fatigue/boredom and the external cues subscales was considered adequate (Cronbach alpha = 0.75 and 0.68, respectively). The total score and each subscale scores from the second completion of the questionnaire were significantly correlated with their respective scores from the first completion (r = 0.75; ρ < 0.001 for the total score and r = 0.55 to 0.78; ρ < 0.001 for the three subscales). Moreover, participants’ BMI z-score was positively correlated with EAH total score (r = 0.15; ρ = 0.03). Conclusion: A French translated version of the EAH questionnaire appears to represent an adequate and reliable tool to assess EAH among French-speaking Canadian children and adolescents.

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