Investigation of the relationship between health and digital healthy diet literacy, cooking and food preparation skills and diet quality in pregnant women

Pregnancy is a period during which numerous physiological and psychological changes occur, and nutrition becomes more crucial. This thesis study was conducted with the voluntary participation of 310 pregnant individuals in their 3rd trimester in order to examine the relationship between the health and nutrition literacy level, cooking and food preparation skills, and diet quality in healthy pregnant women. The face-to-face survey consists of sections on general information, health status and dietary habits, the Short Form of the Health Literacy Scale (HLS-SF12), the Digital Healthy Diet Literacy (DDL) Scale, the Cooking Skills (CS) and Food Skills (FS) Measure, anthropometric measurements, and a one-day food intake record. The Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) and Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) scores, which evaluate the adequacy of the diet in terms of nutrients, were calculated. HL and DDL index of pregnant women showed significant differences between groups according to education and income status and DDL index showed significant differences between groups according to employment status (p<0.05). The total score of the CS and FS measure of the participants showed significant differences among groups according to education status, income level, cooking frequency and Boddy Mass Index (BMI) classification (p<0.05). The MAR scores of pregnant women differed significantly by pre-pregnancy BMI classification and education level (p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between the HL and DDL index and the subscale scores of CS and FS, as well as the total scale score CS and FS (p <0.05). There was no significant relationship between participants' MAR score and their CS and FS total scale score, HL and DDL index (p>0.05), but a positive relationship was found with the CS subscale score (p<0.05). High levels of cooking and food preparation skills, health and nutrition literacy of pregnant women may improve their diet quality.