Nutrition literacy is associated with healthy-eating behaviour among college students in Taiwan

Abstract

Objective:This study aimed to investigate the nutrition literacy status of Taiwanese college students and to assess the relationship between nutrition literacy and healthy-eating behaviours.Design:Cross-sectional design with convenience sampling.Setting:Six universities in northern, central and southern Taiwan; both national and private universities were included in each region.Method:A maximum of 220 students was recruited from each university with no more than 45 students from one department. Data were collected using a self-rated nutrition literacy scale and questions about frequency of practising healthy-eating behaviours and demographic information.Results:The mean score for self-rated nutrition literacy was 2.8 (out of 4), and the mean score for healthy-eating behaviours was 3.07 (out of 5). Results of hierarchical regression showed that nutrition literacy explained 17.2% of the total variance of healthy-eating behaviours of college students, controlling for confounding variables.Conclusion:The findings of this study showed that nutrition literacy among college students was not optimal, and there was a positive association between higher levels of nutrition literacy and healthier dietary behaviours. Therefore, identifying methods to increase nutrition literacy among college students is essential to promote healthy-eating behaviours.