Construct Validity of Nutrition Security and Perceived Healthfulness Choice Measures

Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between a well-accepted measure of food security and new measures of nutrition security and healthfulness choice. We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected by the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition from a convenience sample to assess the relationships between the Household Food Security Survey Module and the newly developed measures. Among respondents experiencing food insecurity, 56% reported experiencing nutrition security and 56% reported high levels of control over their ability to select healthful foods. This does not support the new measures’ construct validity given our understanding of their theoretical relationship with food security.