Health Literacy on Weighing Control and Use of Weight Loss Products among Working-age Women in the Northeast of Thailand

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to describe weight loss products’ use patterns and identify the association of health literacy on weight control and weight loss products use among working-age women in the Northeast of Thailand. The study was conducted among 1,190 respondents who were multistage randomly selected from 4 provinces of the Northeast region. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to identify the association between health literacy and weight loss products use when controlling the effects of other covariate presenting adjusted OR and 95% confidence interval. The results indicated that 23.19% (95% CI = 20.79-25.59) of the respondents ever used weight loss products, of which 11.60% (95% CI = 9.77-13.41) were current users. Levels of health literacy on weight control was statistically significant with weight loss products use including having; sufficient level of health literacy (adj. OR = 2.62: 95% CI=1.59-4.31, p-value <0.001), problematic level of health literacy (adj. OR = 4.71: 95% CI=2.87-7.72, p-value <0.001) and inadequate level of health literacy (adj. OR = 10.97: 95% CI=6.17-19.51, p-value <0.001) when compared with having excellence level. The significant covariate was had waist circumference ≥ 80 cm. (Adj. OR = 4.12: 95% CI = 2.79-6.11, p-value =0.025), finished lower than bachelor degree (adj. OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.78-3.70, p-value <0.001), had average monthly income ≥ 15,000 THB =(adj. OR = 3.08: 95% CI = 2.20-4.31, p-value <0.001), About twenty three percent of working-age womenever used weight loss products. Health literacy was highly associated with used weight loss products.