The Relationship between Health and Nutrition Literacy in Adults with Nutritional Knowledge, Diet Quality, and Quality of Life

Abstract

Aim: This research was conducted to determine health and nutrition literacy levels in adults and their relationships with nutritional knowledge, diet quality and quality of life.
Subjects and Methods: This study, planned as a cross-sectional type, was completed between February and May 2022 with the voluntary participation of 400 adult individuals living in Istanbul. In the study, participants were asked to complete a survey form containing questions about their sociodemographic data, “Adult Health Literacy Scale (AHLS)”, “Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults (EINLA)”, “Nutrition Knowledge Level Scale for Adults (NKLSA)”, “Quality of Life Scale - Short Form (QLS-SF-36)”, “Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015)” and a three-day 24-hour dietary intake record were applied.
Results: A positive significant relationship was found between age and AHLS score (r=0.117, p=0.019), reading comprehension and interpretation (r=0.148, p=0.003), food label and numerical literacy (r=0.181, p<0.001) scores. Additionally, there is a negative significant relationship between waist circumference (r=-0.165, p=0.001) and waist/height ratio (r=-0.155, p=0.002) and food labeling and numerical literacy. It was determined that AHLS and EINLA scores had a positive significant relationship with some subscale scores of AHLS, HEI-2015 and QLS-SF-36 (p<0.001). It was found that with an increase of 1 unit in the AHLS score, the “basic nutrition and food-health relationship” and “food preference” scores from the HEI-2015, NKLSA sub-dimensions increase by 1.761, 0.890 and 0.435 units, respectively (p<0.001). It was determined that with an increase of 1 unit in the EINLA score, the “basic nutrition and food-health relationship” and “food preference” scores from the HEI-2015, NKLSA sub-dimensions increase by 0.749, 0.652 and 0.385 units, respectively (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Health and nutrition literacy is closely related to nutrition knowledge, diet and quality of life. For this reason, it is important to increase public awareness of nutrition and health literacy and awareness on the subject through relevant training to protect public health and increase diet and quality of life. More research on this subject will be beneficial in terms of contributing to the improvement of health and the protection of public health.