Barriers to healthy eating questionnaire (C-BASU) in mexican college students: construction and evidence of validity

Barriers to Healthy Eating Questionnaire (C-BASU)

Authors

  • Ma. de los Ángeles Vacio Muro Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes
  • Roberto Lagunes-Córdoba Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIP), Universidad Veracruzana región Xalapa, Xalapa-Enríquez, Veracruz, México.
  • Martha Leticia Salazar Garza Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México.
  • María Luisa Marván

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.29.2.2314

Keywords:

Young Adult, Life Style, access to healthy foods, desing

Abstract

Introduction: Entering University implies adopting a self-managed lifestyle, due to the increased academic load and rigor. Faced with such a scenario, many university students prioritize their academic responsibilities, neglecting their nutrition. The barriers to healthy eating have been classified into three types: intrapersonal-individual, interpersonal-social environmental and contextual-physical environmental. So far, these barriers have been explored only in qualitative research, therefore, the objective of this study was to construct a valid and reliable questionnaire that measures the barriers perceived by students to healthy eating, under an instrumental design.

Methodology: 2,405 Mexican college students participated. Construct validity was verified using the cross-validation method. Two subsamples were created: the first (n= 605) was used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the second (n= 1800) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability indices were calculated for each factor with Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega coefficients. CFA was performed using the diagonal weighted least squares method. The goodness of fit of the data was assessed with the CFI, RMSEA and SRMR indices.

Results: With the EFA, an eight-factor structure was obtained with adequate reliability and with the minimum number of items necessary to adequately represent the content of each factor. The CFA obtained very good fit indices. Reliability results and the convergent validity estimates were also acceptable.

Conclusions: The presented questionnaire is valid and reliable for the assessment of barriers to healthy eating in college students. The use of this tool can contribute to the development of institutional strategies to facilitate healthy eating among their students and not only its promotion. Its use is suggested both in clinical practice and in research.

Funding: Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, México funded this study.

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Published

2025-05-17

How to Cite

Vacio Muro, M. de los Ángeles, Lagunes-Córdoba, R., Salazar Garza, M. L., & Marván, M. L. (2025). Barriers to healthy eating questionnaire (C-BASU) in mexican college students: construction and evidence of validity: Barriers to Healthy Eating Questionnaire (C-BASU). Spanish Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.29.2.2314