Tradução e adaptação transcultural de questionário de escala de motivação para perda de peso

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are a growing public health problem, associated with several comorbidities and leading to high healthcare costs. A large portion of the population believes that obesity is an individual choice, although it is a multifactorial disease resulting from the interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. In this context, the identification of individual motivations for weight loss is increasingly important, including concerns related to health, appearance and social expectations, which influence treatment success. Despite extensive literature review, few validated tools for effectively and culturally appropriately assessing these motivational factors have been found in Brazil. This study aimed to adapt the Weight Loss Motivation Scale, originally developed by Andrea Meyer and collaborators, to the Brazilian Portuguese context. This is a cross-cultural adaptation study for Brazilian Portuguese following the procedures and stages recommended in the transcultural adaptation guidelines proposed by Guillemin et al. In the initial phase, two independent translations of the original German version into Brazilian Portuguese (T1 and T2) were performed and synthesized into a unified version (T3). In the back-translation phase, two versions of T3 were independently back-translated into German (R1 and R2), and a unified version (R3) was created for analysis. The versions T3, R1, R2 and R3 were reviewed by a panel of experts regarding semantic, idiomatic, experiential, and conceptual equivalence, with modifications and adaptations made as necessary. In the pilot study, the questionnaire was applied through interviews to 30 overweight or obese patients, 73% of whom had associated comorbidities, 33.4% reported using anti-obesity medications, 66.3% engaged in regular physical activity, and 46.7% followed nutritional guidance. The average time to complete the questionnaire was 217 seconds, or 3,61 minutes. Only 13.3% of participants reported difficulties in understanding item 4, which was subsequently revised. The mean scores were: 3.77 for health, 1.70 for appearance and 2.86 for social expectations. The order of the mean scores remained consistent regardless of sex, age group, education level, skin colour or body mass index (BMI). Individuals with lower education levels up to elementary school had higher BMI scores, while lower BMI scores were observed among those with postgraduate education. The transcultural adaptation of the Weight Loss Motivation Scale developed by Andrea Meyer and others into Brazilian Portuguese was successfully completed, with confirmed semantic, idiomatic, experiential, and conceptual equivalence between the original and translated versions.