Adult picky eating behavior is one of manifested behaviors of Avoidant-Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Compared to children�s picky eating behaviors, adult picky eating behaviors have been insufficiently studied to support this new diagnosis. This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of a questionnaire to measure picky eating behavior in adults based on South Korean population. A total of 905 men and women in South Korea participated in the item development and scale validation process. In the first step, participants described their opinion to the open-ended question to ask behavior and attitudes of picky eaters, and 83 items were selected through the Consensual Qualitative Research method by eight evaluators. In the second step, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 21-items, 5-factor model that included avoidance of unfamiliar food, restricted choice of food, limited amount of food, adherence of healthy food, and lack of interest in food. In the final step, 443 participants completed the final questionnaire and other measurements for concurrent validity, and the Korean Adults Picky Eating (KAPE) questionnaire was validated by structure equation modeling to confirm average variance extracted index and construct reliability. Since associations among the KAPE sub-factors and psychosocial impairment were not examined in this study, follow-up study is recommended.

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