The Reliability and Validity of the Persian Version of Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait-Reduced (FCQ-T-r) in Overweight and Obese Women

Introduction: Food craving questionnaire (FCQ) is a common method used to assess food craving, which consists of the two sections of trait (FCQ-T) and state (FCQ-S). The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Persian version of FCQ-trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) with 15 items in overweight and obese women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 168 overweight and obese women who consented to participate. The subjects completed the FCQ-T-r. In addition, anthropometric, body composition, and psychometric assessments were performed to evaluate the inter-correlations and concurrent validity. Confirmatory factor analysis was also carried out to derive the potential factors and internal consistency of the questionnaire. After two weeks, FCQ-T-r was completed again by 126 participants in order to confirm the test-retest reliability. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis based on VARIMAX rotation indicated that three principal components were loaded on the expected factors, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was estimated at 0.90. (0.91, 0.78, and 0.71for the factors, respectively). Moreover, the test-retest analysis showed acceptable reliability (P=0.001), and Pearson’s correlation-coefficient was calculated to be 0.92 between the two administrations. In the split-half reliability analysis, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the first and second section of the questionnaire was estimated at 0.80 and 0.86, respectively, while the correlation-coefficient between the two sections was 0.81. Conclusion: This preliminary study provided evidence confirming the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the FCQ-T-r. The findings indicated high internal consistency for the FCQ-T-r, and none of the items in the questionnaire had to be removed to improve the alpha.