J Nutr Health.  2017 Apr;50(2):142-157. 10.4163/jnh.2017.50.2.142.

Development of NQ-A, Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents, to assess dietary quality and food behavior

• Kim HY
• Lee JS
• Hwang JY
• Kwon S
• Chung HR
• Kwak TK
• Kang MH
• Choi YS

• KMID: 2407328
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2017.50.2.142

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) to assess overall dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents.
METHODS
Development of the NQ-A was undertaken in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ-A checklist were selected based on literature reviews, results of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, dietary guidelines for Korean adolescents, expert in-depth interviews, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 213 middle and high school students participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 41 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the responses to the checklist items along with nutritional status of the adolescents were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for the nation-wide survey. A total of 1,547 adolescents from 17 cities completed the checklist questionnaire. Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ-A model.
RESULTS
Nineteen items were finalized as the checklist items for the NQ-A. Checklist items were composed of five factors (balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice). The five-factor structure accounted for 47.2% of the total variance. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ-A and five-factor scores were calculated based on the obtained weights of the questionnaire items.
CONCLUSION
Nutrition Quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) would be a useful instrument for evaluating dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Further research on NQ-A is needed to reflect changes in adolescent's food behavior and environment.

Keyword

nutrition quotient; adolescent; dietary quality; food behavior; checklist

MeSH Terms

Adolescent*
Checklist
Diet Records
Humans
Korea
Nutrition Policy
Nutrition Surveys
Nutritional Status
Weights and Measures

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Process of NQ-A development. 1) FBC, Food behavior checklist, 2) DR, Dietary record

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  Fig. 2 Weights and path coefficients of five-factor structure model of NQ-A

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  Fig. 3 Comparison of percentage of nutrient intake of the adolescents to recommended nutrient intake (RNI) or adequate intake (AI) according to NQ-A score three-grade criterion of samples from the pilot survey. a,b: Different alphabets are significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test (p < 0.05).

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  Fig. 4 ROC curve for the NQ-A model

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