Bridging Gaps in Obesity Assessment: Spanish Validation of the Eating Behaviors Assessment for Obesity (EBA-O)

TL;DR

This study validates a tool for assessing eating behaviors in Spanish adults with overweight or obesity, showing it is reliable and useful for both research and clinical use.

Contribution

The study provides the first Spanish validation of the EBA-O, confirming its psychometric properties for this population.

Findings

The EBA-O showed a strong five-factor structure with excellent fit indices in the Spanish sample.

The Spanish version of EBA-O demonstrated configural, metric, and scalar invariance.

EBA-O scores were significantly influenced by sex and BMI categories across subscales.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Obesity is currently one of the major challenges in medicine. Research indicates that assessing eating habits can contribute significantly to the development of more effective treatment. This study aims to validate the Eating Behaviors Assessment for Obesity (EBA-O) in a sample of Spanish adults with overweight or obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 384 participants. To evaluate the structure, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Spanish EBA-O, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), calculated McDonald’s omega for reliability, and carried out a hierarchical sequence of multigroup CFAs. Two-way MANOVA was used to assess the effects of sex and body mass index (BMI) categories on EBA-O scores. Results: CFA supported a second-order five-factor structure for the EBA-O, demonstrating excellent fit indices. It respected the configural, metric, and scalar invariance. The Spanish version of the EBA-O exhibited significant correlations with measures of binge eating, food addiction, and eating disorder psychopathology. Internal consistency was high (ω = 0.80). Significant effects of sex and BMI were observed across EBA-O subscales. Conclusions: The EBA-O appears to be a valid, reliable, and easy-to-use instrument for assessing eating behaviors among Spanish-speaking individuals with overweight or obesity. Its strong psychometric properties support its use in both clinical settings and research, enhancing the development of tailored interventions for this population.

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