Association of health literacy and nutritional literacy with sun exposure in adults using structural equation modelling

Abstract

Background Inadequate health and nutritional literacy is a common problem among adults, associated with poor health outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and nutritional literacy to sun exposure behaviour. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study on 261 adults (18–65 years) in Iran. Data was collected on knowledge, motivation, health literacy, nutritional literacy, and sun exposure behaviour using an interview-assisted questionnaire. Using the information–motivation–behavioural skills model and structural equation modeling, we tested whether health and nutritional literacy were associated with the relationships between knowledge of vitamin D, attitudes toward sun exposure, and sun exposure behaviour. Different models using structural equation modeling were performed to analyze the data. Results The finding showed that health literacy (β = 0.29, p < 0.001) and nutritional literacy (β = 0.14, p = 0.02) was directly associated with sunlight exposure. Indirect relationships also existed between knowledge and sunlight exposure through health literacy (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) and nutritional literacy (β = 0.22, p = 0.01). The model had good fit (x2/df = 1.422; RMSEA = 0.040; CFI = 0.851; NFI = 0.657). There was no significant relationship between health literacy and motivation (β = 0.11, p = 0.16), nutritional literacy and motivation (β = 0.06, p = 0.42) and motivation and sun exposure (β = 0.01, p = 0.91). Conclusions The findings showed that individuals with sufficient health literacy and nutritional literacy were more likely to have exposure to sunlight. Health and nutritional literacy should be considered when educating adults about vitamin D supplements and sunlight exposure.

Awareness of Vitamin D Deficiency among the General Population in Taif City, Saudi Arabia

“…Lack of awareness about vitamin D's importance in regulating body functions and non-adherence, as well as the outcome of its deficiency, can potentially increase the risk for the increasing prevalence of this concern [21]. Many studies revealed a lack of public knowledge and awareness toward vitamin D's role and sources in multiple countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, the USA, and India [1,6,12,14,22]. Therefore, the current study was conducted to explore the awareness level of vitamin D benefits, sources, its deficiency consequences, and overdose toxicity among the adult population of Taif city, Saudi Arabia.…”

Health literacy and nutrition literacy among mother with preschool children: What factors are effective?

“…Also, NL as a part of HL can affect having healthier food choices ( Truman et al, 2020 ). Various studies have shown that nutritional literacy is related to nutritional behaviors, and it has been observed that the increase in nutritional knowledge and literacy affects people's dietary changes ( SaeidiFard et al, 2022 ). Considering that nutritional literacy is a form of health literacy ( Velardo, 2015 ), the purpose of this study is to evaluate HL and NL among mothers with children under 7 years old in Zanjan city, Iran.…”

An Assessment on the Efficiency of Clothing with UV Protection among the Spanish Navy School Students

“…The variables used were intention, attitude, subjective norm, action plan, among others [25]. The use of Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to assess classified homogeneous groups of 90 respondents according to constitutional risk, tanning intention, and sun protection behavior (shade, clothing and sunscreen) [26]. The collection of a sample of 261 respondents to propose a model based on knowledge, motivation, health literacy and nutritional literacy to test whether knowledge about health and nutrition was associated with an attitude towards sun exposure [27].…”