Assessing Initial Validity and Reliability of a Beverage Intake Questionnaire in Hispanic Preschool-Aged Children

Background Understanding the relationship between high-calorie beverage consumption and weight gain requires an accurate report of dietary intake. A critical need exists to develop and test the psychometrics of brief quantitative tools for minority pediatric populations. Objective To modify the adult beverage intake questionnaire (BEVQ-15) for Hispanic preschool-aged children (BEVQ-PS) and test its validity and testeretest reliability in children aged 3 to 5 years. Design Cross-sectional. The modified quantitative 12-beverage category questionnaire assessed consumption of water, fruit juice, sweetened juice drinks, whole milk, reduced-fat milk, low-fat milk, flavored milk, carbonated sweetened drinks, diet carbonated drinks, sweet tea, tea with or without artificial sweetener, and sport drinks consumed during the past month. Hispanic mothers (n = 109) recruited from day-care centers provided one 4-day food intake record (FIR) and completed two BEVQ-PS surveys during a 2-week period for their preschool-aged child. Data collection was conducted through one-on-one interviews in Spanish. Validity was assessed by comparing amounts (in grams) and energy intake (in kilocalories) for each beverage category between the first BEVQ-PS and the mean of the FIRs using paired t tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Criteria for validity were nonsignificant mean differences in grams and kilocalories from the first BEVQ-PS and mean of the FIRs beverage categories, and significant correlation coefficients between beverage categories. Testeretest reliability was assessed by comparing grams and kilocalories for each beverage category in the first BEVQ-PS with those from the second BEVQ-PS using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The criterion for reliability was a significant correlation coefficient between beverage categories. Significance was set at P< 0.05. Results Mean differences between the first BEVQ-PS and FIR for water (42.4 +/- 23.1 g), sweetened juice drinks (-1.6 +/- 11.0 g), whole milk (18.3 +/- 9.91 g), sweetened carbonated drinks (-13.0 +/- 7.9 g), and total sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) (1.4 +/- 8.9 g) were not significantly different, but were significantly correlated (r = 0.20 to 0.37; P< 0.05). Thus, validity criteria were met. With the exception of flavored milk and tea with or without artificial sweeteners, the remaining beverage categories-total beverages and SSB-in the first BEVQ-PS were correlated with those from the second BEVQ-PS (r = 0.20 to 0.68; P< 0.05), meeting reliability criteria. Conclusions Researchers and clinicians may use the BEVQ-PS to assess SSB, water, and whole-milk intake in Hispanic children. Additional modifications should be evaluated to assess total beverage intake.