Assessing nutrition literacy and its related factors among high school students in Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş province

Aim: This study aimed to determine the nutrition literacy, nutrition habits, and some related socio-demographic factors among high school students studying in the center of Elbistan district. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out in May-June 2019 with the participation of 614 students. The population of the research involved all the students of public high schools in the center of Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş province. The data were collected with a two-stage questionnaire form consisting of 62 questions. The first part of the questionnaire included questions about the socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional habits, and health behaviors of the students, whereas the second part involved the questions about the nutritional literacy of the students. The participants' nutritional literacy was assessed using "the Nutrition Literacy Status of Adolescent Students" questionnaire. The data were analyzed through SPSS 22.0 program with Independent Samples T-test, Chi-square, and One-Way ANOVA. Results: Of the students who participated in the research, 55% were female, and 44.9% were male, and their mean age was 15.9±1.03 years. It was seen that 65.7% of them had a healthy body mass index. The average score of nutrition literacy of the participants was 66.9±8.3. Nutrition literacy was seen to be affected by gender, various nutrition habits, and health behavior. Moreover, the research indicated that the nutritional literacy level was higher among female students, non-smokers, those having the habit of reading the information on the label of food, consuming the brown bread, and having an experience of dieting. Finally, a significant difference was found between participants' vegetarian-vegan status and gender. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it was clear that adolescents skipped meals and mostly preferred fast food and acidic beverages. It was also concluded that water consumption among them was below the need, and their knowledge of nutrition was insufficient. Additionally, the nutritional literacy of students was found at a medium level. It was suggested that nutrition education in schools should be considered essential and should be supported by family education to increase nutritional literacy to the desired level. Keywords: Adolescent Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition Literacy