Translation and Validation of the Persian Version of Mindful Eating Questionnaire

Wrong eating behaviors increase the risk of numerous chronic diseases.

This study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) in the Iranian population.

In a validation study at the University of Guilan City, Iran, in 2019-2020. First, the MEQ was translated based on the forward-backward method. After applying the changes to the Persian version of MEQ (P-MEQ), 50 participants responded to the P-MEQ twice with an interval of 3 weeks. Then, 384 Iranian students selected by the two-stage cluster sampling method completed the P-MEQ to determine its construct validity. Sixty participants simultaneously filled the P-MEQ and the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-SF) to determine concurrent validity. To determine known-group validity, 23 very obese participants and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 35 kg/m2 were compared to individuals with a healthy weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 ).

The test-retest reliability of the P-MEQ was obtained as 0.59 for the total score, and it ranged from 0.58 to 0.79 for the subscales. The first-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results indicated that after removing four items with weak factor loading, the five-factor P-MEQ model had appropriate goodness of fit (χ2 /df=2.516, RMSEA=0.067, AGFI=0.835, IFI=0.924, & CFI=0.916). The second-order CFA revealed that the latent components of awareness, distraction, disinhibition, emotional response, and external cues reflected the concept of higher levels of mindful eating acceptably (χ2 /df=2.545, RMSEA=0.067, AGFI=0.825, IFI=0.912, & CFI=0.905). However, there was a poor relationship between the total score of P-MEQ and FMI-SF (r=0.24, P=0.07).

Regardless of concurrent validity, the Persian version of MEQ has proper construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency.