Development and validation of a questionnaire assessing eating pleasure dimensions in the adult French-speaking population of the province of Québec, Canada

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing eating pleasure dimensions in the adult French-speaking population of the province of Québec, Canada. We developed the Eating Pleasure Questionnaire, a 53-item questionnaire. An expert panel evaluated the content validity, and a pre-test was performed with 30 French-speaking Quebecers (15 men and 15 women, mean age = 46 years) to evaluate the face validity. A sample of 300 Quebecers (150 men and 150 women, mean age = 36 years) completed the online questionnaire for validation. The structure of the questionnaire was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intra class correlation coefficients (ICC) and construct validity, using Pearson's correlations. Evaluation of content validity and face validity led to the clarification of the instructions, the suppression of two items, the addition of two items and some reformulations. The EFA showed a 7-factor structure: 1- health/ideological food choice motives, 2- sensory experiences and individual preferences, 3- social experiences, 4- mindful eating, 5- emotional/situational eating and reward, 6- food preparation process and 7- new experiences. Cronbach's alpha values for the seven factors ranged from 0.67 to 0.86. The total scale Cronbach's alpha was 0.91, which suggests a good internal consistency. The questionnaire appears reliable with ICC ranging from 0.66 to 0.87. It also showed a good construct validity, with expected positive associations with food well-being (how people link food to well-being), intrinsic motivation, and the pleasure orientation (the importance of obtaining pleasure from food). Overall, these analyses suggest that the Eating Pleasure Questionnaire is valid to evaluate eating pleasure dimensions in our population.