Dysfunctional relationship with carbohydrates in athletes: development and validation of an assessment tool
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v83.119372Keywords:
Carbohydrates , athletes, sports nutrition, eating behavior, factor analysisAbstract
Introduction: Unjustified restriction of carbohydrates in athletes may compromise performance, recovery, and health, although its assessment through valid and specific instruments remains limited.
Objective: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dysfunctional Relationship with Carbohydrates Scale (ERDC) in athletes from Chile and Argentina.
Methodology: An instrumental, cross-sectional, non-experimental study was conducted in 697 athletes, divided into two independent samples for exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 288) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 409). The instrument was developed through literature review, expert evaluation, and face validity in athletes. EFA was performed using polychoric correlations, minimum residual extraction, and oblimin rotation. Subsequently, confirmatory models were compared, and factorial invariance between countries was assessed.
Results: EFA identified a three-factor, 21-item solution with adequate factorability (KMO = 0.919; Bartlett’s test of sphericity, p < 0.001) and 42.2% explained variance. In CFA, the bifactor model showed better fit than the three-factor model (CFI = 0.951; TLI = 0.939; RMSEA = 0.053; SRMR = 0.044). Reliability was adequate (α = 0.92; ωt = 0.94; ωh = 0.83), indicating a clear predominance of the general factor. Factorial invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) was observed between Chile and Argentina (ΔCFI ≤ 0.01; ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.015), supporting cross-context equivalence.
Conclusions: The instrument demonstrates adequate structural validity, reliability, and factorial invariance, representing a useful tool to assess the dysfunctional relationship with carbohydrates in athletes, facilitating early detection and targeted nutritional interventions.
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