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This study aims to culturally adapt the BEDS-7 and evaluate its psychometric properties in Chilean adults with overweight/obesity.

May 5, 2026

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Spanish BEDS-7 in a high-symptom Chilean sample: evidence for a two-factor model.

Key Points

This study aims to culturally adapt the BEDS-7 and evaluate its psychometric properties in Chilean adults with overweight/obesity.
BEDS-7 translated and reviewed for cultural adequacy with expert judges.
1350 adults completed the Spanish BEDS-7 and online measures, retaining 435 after eligibility criteria were applied.
Psychometric evaluations included content validity, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, and measurement invariance.
The two-factor model of the BEDS-7 showed excellent fit (CFI=0.995, TLI=0.998, RMSEA=0.014).
Internal consistency was acceptable (ω = 0.706) among the two identified factors: loss of control and emotional distress.
Negative affect was positively associated with both factors, supporting the construct validity.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is prevalent among adults with overweight/obesity, yet its detection remains limited by the scarcity of validated tools for Spanish-speaking populations. This study aimed to culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Binge Eating Disorder Screener-7 (BEDS-7) in Chilean adults with overweight/obesity and recurrent binge-eating episodes. METHODS: The BEDS-7 was translated, back-translated, reviewed by expert judges, and pilot tested to ensure linguistic and cultural adequacy. Content validity evaluation also led to the exploratory addition of two DSM-5-based items. In total, 1,497 adults were recruited; after applying eligibility criteria, 435 were retained. Participants completed the Spanish BEDS-7 and online measures. Content validity was evaluated through expert judgment, structural validity using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling, internal consistency using omega coefficients, measurement invariance using multigroup analyses across gender, BMI, and physical activity, and concurrent validity through associations with negative affect. RESULTS: Content validity analyses indicated adequate clarity, coherence, and relevance, although lower sufficiency supported the exploratory inclusion of two additional items. For the BEDS-7, a two-factor structure showed excellent fit (CFI = 0.995; TLI = 0.998; RMSEA = 0.014) and acceptable internal consistency (ω = 0.706), with factors labeled "loss of control" and "emotional distress." Measurement invariance was supported across gender, BMI, and physical activity groups, and negative affect was positively associated with both factors. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish BEDS-7 demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for assessing binge-eating symptomatology in Chilean adults with overweight/obesity and recurrent binge-eating. This study provides novel evidence from Latin America and contributes to cross-cultural comparability. Future research should assess diagnostic accuracy and temporal stability.

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