Measuring eating competence: psychometric properties and validity of the ecSatter Inventory.

OBJECTIVE Assess validity of the ecSatter Inventory (ecSI) to measure eating competence (EC). DESIGN Concurrent administration of ecSI with validated measures of eating behaviors using on-line and paper-pencil formats. SETTING The on-line survey was completed by 370 participants; 462 completed the paper version. PARTICIPANTS Participants included 863 adults with 832 usable surveys from respondents (mean age 36.2 +/- 13.4 years) without eating disorders, mostly female, white, educated, overweight, physically active, and food secure. Of those indicating intent to complete the on-line survey, 80.3% did so; 54% of mailed surveys were returned. VARIABLES MEASURED Eating and food behaviors compared among EC tertiles and between dichotomous EC categories; internal consistency of ecSI. ANALYSIS Analysis of variance, independent t tests, chi-square, factor analysis, logistic regression. Significance level was P < .05. RESULTS Mean ecSI score was 31.1 +/- 7.5. ecSI included 4 subscales with internal reliability and content validity. Construct validity was supported by specific behavioral profiles for ecSI tertiles and ecSI dichotomized categories. Persons unsatisfied with weight were 54% less likely to be EC; unit increase in the food like index was associated with nearly 3 times greater likelihood of being EC. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The ecSatter Inventory is a valid measure of EC and can be used for descriptive and outcome measurements.