Development and validation of a short dietary questionnaire for assessing obesity‐related dietary behaviours in young children

Abstract There are few short, validated tools to assess young children's obesity‐related dietary behaviours, limiting the rapid screening of dietary behaviours in research and practice‐based early obesity prevention. This study aimed to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a caregiver‐reported short dietary questionnaire to rapidly assess obesity‐related dietary behaviours in children aged 6 months to 5 years. The Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood Dietary Questionnaire (EPOCH‐DQ) was developed using a rigorous process to determine content and structural validity. Three age‐appropriate versions were developed for (1) infants, aged 6–12 months, (2) toddlers, aged 1–2.9 years and (3) pre‐schoolers, aged 3–5 years. The questionnaire (7–15 items) measures dietary behaviours, including diet risk from non‐core food and beverage intake, diet quality from vegetable frequency, bread type and infant feeding practices. Test–retest reliability was assessed from repeated administrations 1 week apart (n = 126). Internal consistency, concurrent validity (against a comparison questionnaire, the InFANT Food Frequency Questionnaire), construct validity and interpretability were assessed (n = 209). Most scores were highly correlated and significantly associated (p