Nutrition Literacy among Adolescents and Its Association with Eating Habits and BMI in Tripoli, Lebanon

Abstract

(1) Background: Adolescence is a period of increased autonomy and independent decision making; it determines health behaviors that can persist into the future. Individual factors like food choices and unhealthy lifestyle have an essential role in the development and prevention of obesity among adolescents and are associated with the nutrition literacy of parents and other adults. While the association of parents’ nutrition literacy with adolescent BMI has been addressed, there is still a scarcity of studies that examine the effect of adolescents’ nutrition literacy on their eating habits and body mass index (BMI) status. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 189 adolescents (68 with overweight and obesity and 121 with normal weight) aged between 14–19 years from four private schools in Tripoli, Lebanon. A self-administered questionnaire that included the Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument (NLAI) and the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist (AFHC) was used. Anthropometrics were measured using standardized procedures. The association between nutrition literacy, food habits and BMI was assessed using a chi squared test for independence and Poisson regression analysis where suitable. (3) Results: Results indicated no association between all five components of nutrition literacy and body mass index categories. Furthermore, there was no association between the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist and overweight or obese BMI status (RR = 0.947, 95%CI: 0.629–1.426) (p = 0.796). No association was observed between nutrition literacy and food habits, except for an inverse association with macronutrients literacy. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, the study indicated that there was no association between the components of nutrition literacy with body mass index or with food habits, except for macronutrient literacy.

Nutrition Literacy of Middle School Students and Its Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chongqing, China

“…Meanwhile, given the lack of proper awareness of their own body shape, obese children tend to make unhealthy food options ( 54 ). Increasing nutrition knowledge and skills through improving NL and promoting application of nutrition knowledge for healthy eating practices can reduce malnutrition in children ( 55 , 56 ).…”

Nutrition Literacy Mediates the Relationships between Multi-Level Factors and College Students’ Healthy Eating Behavior: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study

“…Existing literature indicates that NL is significantly related to sociodemographic variables and healthy eating behavior [28,[36][37][38][39]. Many scholars have used the social-ecological model to identify multi-level factors that affect healthy eating behavior [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…Several studies have indicated that health literacy mediated the relationship between sociodemographic variables and health-promoting behaviors/health outcomes [33][34][35]. Since NL is associated with healthy eating behavior and derived from health literacy [28,[36][37][38], and sociodemographic variables are also predictors of NL [38,39], we assume that NL may play a similar role to health literacy in mediating the effect of factors influencing healthy eating on healthy eating behavior.…”

Association Between Nutrition Literacy and Overweight/Obesity of Adolescents: A Cross–Sectional Study in Chongqing, China

“…Nutrition literacy (NL) is associated with overall food habits ( 9 , 10 ). It is defined as obtaining, understanding, and using correct nutrition information and nutrition knowledge to make healthy food choices ( 11 ). Krause et al ( 12 ) classified NL into three subdomains, namely, functional NL (FNL), the ability to obtain and process nutrition information to improve decisions about nutrition; interactive NL (INL), the ability to utilize different forms of communication to obtain and apply relevant nutrition information; and critical NL (CNL), the ability to critically assess and reflect on nutrition information.…”