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Accepted manuscript

Initial Development and Validation of a Child-Oriented Food Literacy Questionnaire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2025

Ilse van Lier Open the ORCID record for Ilse van Lier [Opens in a new window] ,
Britt van Belkom ,
Edgar van Mil  and
Remco C. Havermans Open the ORCID record for Remco C. Havermans [Opens in a new window]
Ilse van Lier*
Affiliation:
Chair group Youth, Food & Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, Venlo, the Netherlands
Britt van Belkom
Affiliation:
Chair group Youth, Food & Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, Venlo, the Netherlands
Edgar van Mil
Affiliation:
Chair group Youth, Food & Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, Venlo, the Netherlands Children’s Lifestyle Medicine Centre, Department of Paediatrics, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
Remco C. Havermans
Affiliation:
Chair group Youth, Food & Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, Venlo, the Netherlands Laboratory of Behavioural Gastronomy, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, Venlo, the Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: Ilse van Lier, chair group Youth, Food, and Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, PO Box 8, 5900AA Venlo, the Netherlands | Email: i.vanlier@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
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Abstract

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Objective

The Dutch Children’s Food Literacy Questionnaire (DCFLQ) was developed and validated to assess food literacy among children aged 8 to 12 years. The DCFLQ is structured around farm-to-fork principles, including questions on food production, distribution, consumption, waste, and sustainability.

Design

After initial item pool creation, the DCFLQ was developed in collaboration with experts and children. The validation process included assessments of reliability and construct validity, as well as a test–retest evaluation in a subgroup of children.

Setting

The expert panel consisted of domain-related researchers, a pedagogue, a paediatrician, dietitians, and a primary school teacher. Children were recruited via primary schools and a sports club.

Participants

A total of 11 experts and 27 children participated in the development process; 608 children participated in the validation process.

Results

The final questionnaire comprised 29 questions and demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.80) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.81). DCFLQ scores positively correlated with age, indicating that food literacy is higher in older children.

Conclusions

The DCFLQ is a valuable tool for assessing the effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs and monitoring Dutch children’s food literacy over time. International expert consensus on developing food literacy instruments is needed, as diversity in assessment tools impedes cross-cultural comparisons.

Keywords

Food LiteracyChildrenInstrument DevelopmentFarm to ForkQuestionnaire

Information

Type
Research Paper
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 22
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society