Evidence of Validity and Factorial Invariance of a Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Scale (DEVS) in University Students

Background: University students continue to face health challenges related to a healthy diet and lifestyle. In this context, the measurement of diet and health status is important for institutions interested in health care and promotion. Objective: The objective of this study was to translate into Spanish, evaluate the internal structure, reliability, and factorial invariance of the Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Scale (DEVS) scale. Methods: The participants were 4482 university students aged 18 to 59 years (Mean [M] = 21.32, Standard deviation [SD] = 2.81). Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency, and through multigroup analysis, gender invariance was assessed. Results: The results showed the unidimensionality of the DEVS in Spanish and that it provides good reliability indices: Total sample (Ordinal Alpha [ordinal α] = 0.80, Omega [ω] = 0.83, Coefficient H [H] = 0.84), men (ordinal α = 0.79, ω = 0.83, H = 0.81), women (ordinal α = 0.84, ω = 0.85, H = 0.86). Configurational, scalar, and strict metric invariance was verified, indicating that the construct can be evaluated in both men and women. Conclusion: The DEVS is a valid, reliable, and invariable measure to measure the healthy lifestyle in university students.