Korean J Nutr.  2012 Aug;45(4):390-399. 10.4163/kjn.2012.45.4.390.

Development of a Nutrition Quotient (NQ) equation modeling for children and the evaluation of its construct validity

• Kim HY
• Kwon S
• Lee JS
• Choi YS
• Chung HR
• Kwak TK
• Park J
• Kang MH

• KMID: 2268714
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2012.45.4.390

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the construct validity of a Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for children. In a previous report (Kang, et al., 2012), the food behavior checklist for children's NQ, consisting of 19 items, was grouped into a 5-factor structure according to the exploratory factor analysis: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. In this study, the construct validity of the NQ was assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. Elementary school students (n = 1,393) from six large cities completed the NQ test. Indicator tests suggested an adequate model fit (goodness of fit index = 0.9613; adjusted GFI = 0.95; standardized root mean square residual = 0.0464; chi-square test statistics of < 0.001 p-value, 82.1), and item loadings were significant for all subscales (p < 0.05). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of the items. The NQ and the 5 factor scores of the student were calculated by the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Logistic regression was applied to find the significant factors in order to affect a specific nutrient status. The receiver operation characteristic curve analyses were performed in order to find diagnostic cut-off points of the five factors. The food behavior checklist for children's NQ would be a handy and suitable instrument for evaluating dietary behaviors of Korean children.

Keyword

nutrition quotient; children; construct validity; dietary behavior

MeSH Terms

Checklist
Child
Humans
Logistic Models
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weights and Measures

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Comparison of the distribution of NQ and factor scores by quartile between 1st and 2nd student survey.

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  Fig. 2 Distribution of the NQ score of the elementary school students (n = 1,393) from the 2nd survey.

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  Fig. 3 Percentage of nutrient intake to recommended nutrient intake or adequate intake from the 1st survey 1) Lowest grade: NQ percentile < 10, Low grade: 10 ≤ NQ percentile < 25, Medium grade: 25 ≤ NQ percentile < 75, High grade: 75 ≤ NQ percentile < 90, Highest grade: NQ percentile ≥ 90 2) Different alphabets are significantly different by Duncan's multiple test (p < 0.05).

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