Validity and Reliability of a Behavior Assessment Questionnaire for Children with Obesity

The 10-item Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (BAQ) was developed to assess parent-report of child screen time, physical activity, and food consumption during the past 3 months in children with obesity. Response options were on a 5-point scale, converted to 0-100, with higher scores indicating healthier behavior. To evaluate, two convenience samples of parents of children 5-18 years completed the questionnaire: a cohort presenting to an obesity program (n=83) and a cohort of community events attenders and hospital employee parents (n=147). Scores had a normal distribution without floor or ceiling effects. Cronbach’s alpha for the 10-item scale was .71. Factor analysis yielded three component factors with Cronbach’s alpha of .66, .75, and .59 for the Screen Time, Physical Activity, and Food Consumption dimensions respectively. Scores of the obesity group (49.02 [SD 14.52]) were lower than scores of the community group (55.44 [SD 13.55]), p=.001. The BAQ demonstrated reliability and validity for use as an index of lifestyle behaviors. Key Messages A short, easily administered questionnaire, completed by parents, about obesity-associated lifestyle behaviors of children demonstrates reliability and validity This questionnaire could help pediatric providers assess behaviors in order to provide more targeted lifestyle counseling for children to reduce obesity risk.