Nutrition Literacy and Quality of Life of University Students: Evidence from A Cross-Sectional Survey

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Mardin Artuklu University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Mardin/Türkiye

2 Kırıkkale University, Vocational School of Health Services, First and Emergency Aid Program, Kırıkkale/Türkiye

Abstract

Background and Objective: Nutrition literacy is a concept that improves individuals' diet quality, and quality of life and contributes to enhancing their general health by using and interpreting nutrition-related information correctly. This study purposed to determine the nutritional literacy and quality of life levels of university students and relate them with anthropometric measurements.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and was conducted with 374 university students over the age of 18 at a state university. Nutrition literacy was assessed by using the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults (EINLA), and quality of life was evaluated with the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (Turkish_WHOQOL-BREF). Waist, middle-upper arm, neck circumference, body weight, and height were measured in accordance with appropriate techniques by researchers. Independent t and One-Way ANOVA tests were used to determine differences between two and more than two mean values. Pearson correlation analysis was used to detect relationships between scores of total EINLA, its sections, total Turkish_WHOQOL-BREF and its dimensions, and other variables.

Results: The mean EINLA and WHOQOL-BREF scores of the participants were 25.3±4.7 (borderline) and 54.3±15.1, respectively. While the EINLA score varied according to gender, faculty (health sciences vs others), and degree (1 to 4), the WHOQOL-BREF score varied according to gender and living place (home vs dormitory). EINLA and WHOQOL-BREF scores of BMI (underweight to obese), waist circumference, and neck circumference (normal vs at risk) groups were not different. It was found positive significant relationships between the second section of EINLA (reading comprehension and interpretation) and psychological health, the third section of EINLA (food groups), and social relationships (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Nutrition literacy, anthropometric measurements, and quality of life of university students are affected by a multifactorial situation.

Keywords

Acknowledgements: The authors thank all students to participate in this study and to spend their valuable time.


Availability of data and materials: Data will be available upon request from the corresponding author.


Conflicts of interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.


Consent for publication: Not applicable.


Ethical approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted with the permission of Mardin Artuklu University Ethics Committee (Date:10.01.2021, Decision no:2022-4). All procedures complied with the principles laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki.


Funding: The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.


Author contributions: Jiyan Aslan Ceylan: The idea/scope, data collection, literature review, manuscript writing. Aylin Bayındır Gümüş: Data analysis and interpretation, literature review, manuscript writing. All authors read the article and approved the final version of the article.

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