Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a questionnaire on eating habits and lifestyles of university students in confinement due to COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: This study was to carry out the translation to the Spanish language, the cross-cultural adaptation, and the validation of an online questionnaire to assess eating habits and lifestyles of university students under confinement due to COVID-19. Methods: Phase 1 considered the participationof bilingual dietitians for the cultural adaptation, discussion, evaluation and the generation of a pilot to validate. In Phase 2, information from the questionnaire was collected from two hundred and sixty-eight university students.Results: The adapted questionnaire was statistically validated in three dimensions: (A) Self-report of COVID-19, (B) Eating habits and behaviors during quarantine, and (C) Lifestyle changes during the quarantine. The reliability of Cronbach's α for dimensions A, B and C was 0.79, 0.59 and 0.43, respectively. The complete questionnaire obtained 0.71. Conclusions: The adaptations of this questionnaire demonstrated adequate reliability and validity to assess people's eating habits and lifestyle in the context of the COVID-19 confinement.