Comparison of 10- to 12-year-old boys and girls using a Spanish version of the children’s eating attitudes test

In this study, we compared boys and girls on the Children’s Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), in regards to factor structures, factor scores and item scores. A modified ChEAT was administered to 1076 10- to 12-year-old schoolchildren (546 boys, 530 girls). Analyses showed that the ChEAT exhibited satisfactory internal consistency, and satisfactory concurrence with the Body Dissatisfaction and Impulse Regulation scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Four factors were extracted that were very similar for boys and girls and in both cases accounted for about 50% of total variance. Results indicated that the ChEAT is useful for evaluation of anomalous eating attitudes and behaviour among boys and girls aged 10 or 11 years, but may be less sensitive for 12-year-old boys than for 12-year-old girls.