Turkish adaptation and psychometric validation of the Weight Literacy Scale in Turkish adults

Objective: The purpose of study to adapt the Weight Literacy Scale (WLS) into Turkish and to evaluate its psychometric properties in Turkish adults.Methods: This cross-sectional methodological study included linguistic validation along with comprehensive validity and reliability analyses. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and item-total correlations. The test-retest method was applied at a two-week interval to evaluate temporal stability. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and construct and structural validity were examined through exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Results: Data were collected from 322 participants aged-19-64 years. According to the results of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test, the sample size was adequate (KMO=0.784). The Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicated that there were sufficient correlations among the items to conduct factor analysis (χ² =1997.3, p<0.0001). The internal consistency coefficients and ICC values being at 0.80 indicate that the Turkish version of the scale demonstrates good to excellent reliability. In the present study, the total variance explained by the scale was 36.4% that has been considered sufficient when supported by adequate factor loadings and reliability coefficients. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.80 demonstrating that the Turkish version of the WLS has good internal consistency and temporal stability.Conclusion: This study showed that the WLS was a reliable and valid tool for assessing the weight literacy levels of Turkish adults.