Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ-A) in a sample of Saudi pre-schoolers and their mothers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Mothers completed questionnaires over the telephone and child anthropometry was measured objectively using standardized procedures; BMI Z-scores (BMIZ) were calculated based on the age- and sex-specific WHO growth standards and reference data. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the original seven-factor CFQ model, as well as a modified nine-factor model. Cronbach's α was calculated to examine the internal consistency of each factor; Spearman correlation was used to examine 2-week retest reliability. Factor-factor and factor-child BMIZ correlations were examined. SETTING: Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 209 mothers and children were recruited from eight different pre-schools. RESULTS: Both the original seven-factor and modified nine-factor CFQ-A exhibited good fit (root-mean-square-error of approximation < 0·05). Six out of nine factors had excellent internal consistency and all factors showed excellent 2-week test-retest reliability. There were significant correlations between child BMIZ and five out of the nine factors; Perceived Child Weight, Perceived Parent Weight, Restriction and Monitoring were each positively correlated with child BMIZ, while Concern about Child's Diet was negatively correlated with child BMIZ. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the original seven-factor and modified nine-factor CFQ-A. Future studies are needed to further establish the psychometric properties of the CFQ-A in addition to other feeding assessment tools.