Evaluation of nutrition label usage of health sciences students at a foundation university

This study was conducted to evaluate the usage of nutrition labels and examine the factors affecting the usage of nutrition labels by the students who receive education in a foundation university's Faculty of Health Sciences in Istanbul. Nutrition and Dietetics (n=106), Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (n=97) and Nursing (n=72) Departments, 243 female and 32 male students (n=275) between the age of 18 and 25 have accepted to take part in the study. The research was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data of the research was obtained through the application of the developed form as a data collection tool. The socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, physical exercise status, basic nutrition knowledge, usage of nutrition labels and opinions about nutrition labels of the participants have been evaluated. The average Body Mass Index (BMI) of the participants was 21.55 ± 2.91, and 78.8% of them are in normal BMI range. It was determined that 66.9% of the participants do read the nutrition labels. Participants find the expiration date to be the most important factor while they purchase food. The most examined information found on the nutrition labels were determined to be the sugar, ingredients, calorie/energy and the serving size. The least examined information was determined to be the sodium/salt, preservative content, sweetener information and allergen warnings. The connection between being a Nutrition and Dietetic student and reading the nutrition label and finding the distribution of the nutrient content during the purchasing of food products is statistically significant (p <0.05). While the male students found the price to be the more important factor during purchasing, the female students found the ingredients more important (p <0.05). It is thought that there is a positive association between nutritional information and the use of nutrition labels, and it is observed that although the university students think that the nutrition labels are useful, they do not use them effectively.