Development of a six-factor questionnaire for use in weight management counseling

Objective To develop and validate a new 6 factor questionnaire (6-FQ) that identifies unhealthful behavioral, cognitive and affective lifestyle pattern factors among a large sample of adults who are overweight or obese. Methods Based on a previously developed 53-item lifestyle patterns questionnaire completed by 10,000 subjects, a new 6-FQ was developed and validated by using two prospective subject groups (n = 640) with combined mean age of 43 ± 11.4 years and BMI 33.8 ± 9.1 kg/m². Results An exploratory factor analysis and multidimensional scaling were conducted that identified 6 distinct factors with excellent psychometric properties. Cronbach's internal consistency reliability estimates ranged from 0.76 to 0.85. The prevalence rates and odds ratios of the factors are generally and directly related with increasing BMI categories. The 6-FQ is highly correlated with multiple subscales from the co-administered IWQOL-Lite questionnaire. Conclusions The 6-FQ is a 27-item self-administered instrument with excellent psychometric properties that measures patients’ lifestyle pattern factors. Practice implications The 6-FQ is a convenient, short, self-administered instrument that has potential to target patients’ self-identified lifestyle patterns related to body weight, and should allow clinicians to efficiently and effectively counsel patients on targeted treatment recommendations.