Nutrition literacy is associated with income and place of residence but not with diet behavior and food security in the Palestinian society

Nihal Natour,Mariam Al-Tell,Osama Ikhdour

doi:10.1186/s40795-021-00479-3

Abstract

IntroductionPalestinian society is going through health transition that is associated with increase in chronic diseases due to poor dietary habits so adequate integration of nutrition information is important.AimsThe aim of this study is to find the association between nutrition literacy and diet behavior among a group of Palestinian participants.MethodsA sample of 101 Palestinian participants were recruited to participate in the study. An online survey was used to collect study data. Newest Vital Sign quiz was used to collect information on nutrition literacy and Short Format of the Diet Health and Knowledge Survey (SFDHKS) was used to collect information on diet behavior and USDA food security questionnaire was used to collect data on food security. Data was analyzed utilizing SPSS 21.ResultsThis study included 101 participants, mean age 22.7 y ± 8.7 y, mainly females (females were 83.2% and males were 16.8%). 5.7% of the study participants were obese, 13.8% overweight and 10.3% were underweight. The prevalence of adequate nutrition literacy was 29%. There was minimal association between diet behavior and nutrition literacy, food security and BMI categories, but significant association with income and living in city relative to village (p < 0.05). Only 11 participants had some form of food insecurity.ConclusionThere is low prevalence of adequate nutrition literacy. Nutrition literacy depends on social and economic aspects but further research is need to understand its relationship to diet behavior.

Highlights

Palestinian society is going through health transition that is associated with increase in chronic diseases due to poor dietary habits so adequate integration of nutrition information is important
Poor dietary habits account for 16% of all-cause mortality in USA adults according to data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2010) and healthy eating index of 2015 [2]
Food literacy can be defined as the ability to understand, use, analyze and communicate nutrition information [6], whereas nutrition literacy means the ability of a person to seek, understand and apply basic nutrition information [7]

Summary

Introduction

Palestinian society is going through health transition that is associated with increase in chronic diseases due to poor dietary habits so adequate integration of nutrition information is important. Efforts to improve dietary habits in Palestine could be accomplished by enhancing nutrition knowledge. Improving individuals’ access to information and their ability to use them is considered effective involvement of adults in managing their health [10]. Improving nutrition literacy could lead to better healthful diet decisions and can be achieved by many tools such as food labels and printed brochures and material to deliver nutrition information [11]. Literacy itself which is defined as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.”. Literacy itself which is defined as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” Is important to use and apply distributed nutrition information [12]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion