Evaluation of attitudes, label reading habits and nutrition literacy of İnönü University Faculty of Medicine students towards healthy eating

Aim: This research was conducted to measure the attitudes of İnönü University Faculty of Medicine students for healthy nutrition, label reading habits and nutritional literacy levels. Material and Method: This research was conducted on 275 students who were studying at İnönü University Faculty of Medicine between November - December 2021. Data were collected by asking questions personal information, ASHN, questions about reading labels, EINLA. Number, percentage, chi-square tests were used in the statistical evaluation. The normality test was performed using KolmogorovSmirnov test. The median, min-max values are given because data don't normal distribution. Man WhitneyU test, KruskalWallis analysis of variance were performed. p<0.05 was chosen margin of error. Results: 58.5% of the participants are female, 41.5% are male, 71% are within the normal BMI range, 45.8% are doing regular physical activity. ASHN levels were found to be high by 76.4%, EINLA levels by 94.9% were found to be sufficient. Significant difference was found between the knowledge about nutrition from ASHN and its subdivisions according to maternal education level. Significant difference was found between positive nutrition from ASHN subsections and age, class, place of residence, maternal education level and smoking. Significant difference was found between the portion amount of EINLA subsections and gender, place of residence, family income, and chronic disease. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, ASHN levels of the participants were mostly in the high range, their EINLA levels were at a sufficient level, their physical activity rates were high, most of them were in the normal BMI range. Keywords: Nutrition Literacy Scale, Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Label Reading