Development and application of the Meal and Snack Assessment (MESA) quality scale for children and adolescents using item response theory.

Autor: Lemke S; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., de Andrade DF; Informatics and Statistics Department, Technological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., de Fragas Hinnig P; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., da Silva SA; Knowledge Management Department, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., Vincenzi SL; Informatics and Statistics Department, Technological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., Roberto DMT; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., Lobo AS; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., Vieira FGK; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil., Di Pietro PF; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. patricia.di.pietro@ufsc.br.; Federal University of Santa Catarina, Campus Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, 88040-370, Brazil. patricia.di.pietro@ufsc.br., de Assis MAA; Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nutrition journal [Nutr J] 2024 May 14; Vol. 23 (1), pp. 50. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 14.
DOI: 10.1186/s12937-024-00948-y
Abstrakt: Background: Meals differ in terms of food items and nutritional quality. The aim of the present study was to propose a scale to measure the meals quality of schoolchildren according to food processing degree, perform a preliminary evaluation of the scale's validity and reliability and apply the scale to a representative sample of schoolchildren in a city in southern Brazil.
Methods: A methodological study based on the generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM) of item response theory (IRT) with analysis of secondary data was carried out in 6,399 schoolchildren of 6-15y-old attending 2nd to 5th grades of public elementary schools in Florianópolis, Brazil, in 2013-2015 who answered the validated Food Intake and Physical Activities of Schoolchildren (WebCAAFE) questionnaire. Meal quality was the latent trait. The steps for the development of the scale included: latent trait definition; item generation; dimensionality analysis; estimation of item parameters; scale levels definition; assessment of validity and reliability; and assessment of the meal quality of a subsample of schoolchildren aged 7 to 12 years (n = 6,372).
Results: Eleven out of eighteen items had adequate parameters, without differential item functioning for sex or age. Meal quality was categorized into three levels: healthy, mixed, and unhealthy. Higher scores indicate a greater prevalence of ultra-processed foods in daily meals. Most schoolchildren had mixed (40.6%) and unhealthy (41%) meal patterns.
Conclusions: IRT analysis allowed the development of the scale, which measures the quality of meals and snacks based on the degree of food processing. At all snack times, there was a higher frequency of ultra-processed foods consumption, therefore foods consumed as snacks are a potential focus for nutritional interventions.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: