The validation of the Malay Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0: factor structure, item analysis and model fit.

OBJECTIVE

The development of a second version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) coincides with the latest updates in the diagnosis of addiction as documented in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The objective of the present study was to translate the YFAS 2.0 into the Malay language and test its psychometric properties in a primary-care population.

DESIGN

Patients were assessed for food addiction utilizing the Malay YFAS 2.0. The participants were also assessed for eating disorder using the validated Malay Binge Eating Scale. The psychometric properties of the YFAS 2.0 were determined by analysing factor structure, overall item statistics, internal consistency and construct validity.

SETTING

Between 2017 and 2018, participants were chosen from a regional primary-care clinic in the district of Seremban, Malaysia.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients (n 382) from a regional primary-care clinic.

RESULTS

The prevalence of food addiction was 5·0%. A two-factor structure of the YFAS was confirmed as the most optimal solution for the scale via confirmatory factor analysis. In both its diagnostic and symptom count version, the YFAS 2.0 had good internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson α > 0·80 and McDonald's ω > 0·9).

CONCLUSIONS

We validated a psychometrically sound Malay version of the YFAS 2.0 in a primary-care population. Both diagnostic and symptom count versions of the scale had robust psychometric properties. The questionnaire can be used to develop health promotion strategies to detect food addiction tendencies in a general population.