Nutrition Literacy of Middle School Students and Its Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chongqing, China.

Mao Zeng,Zumin Shi,Tiankun Wang,Zhengjie Cai,Shengping Li,Yong Zhao,Manoj Sharma,Yuzhao Zhu,Jinli Xian

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.807526

Abstract

Nutrition literacy plays an important role in children's dietary habits and nutrition. This study aimed to analyse the status of nutrition literacy and its influencing factors amongst middle school students in Chongqing, China. “Nutrition literacy scale for middle school students in Chongqing” was used in 29 districts of Chongqing in September 2020. The scores of nutrition literacy and its' three sub-domains (functional, interactive and critical nutrition literacy) were divided into low and high groups based on their median scores. Binary logistic regression was used to measure the influencing factors of nutrition literacy. A total of 18,660 middle school students were included in this study. The median of nutrition literacy of middle school students was 61.68 (IQR = 14.37). Interactive nutrition literacy had the highest score (median = 70.00, IQR = 20.00), followed by functional nutrition literacy (median = 68.69, IQR = 14.14) and critical nutrition literacy (median = 45.83, IQR = 25.00). Students who were the minority (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.637–0.785), in senior high school (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.477–0.548), in rural areas (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.790–0.911), receiving school meal support from the government (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.591–0.664), with other caregivers' parenting (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.805–0.914), with parents having a low level of education and with an abnormal BMI [thin (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.837–0.990), overweight (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.785–0.968), and obese (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.767–0.902)] presented less probability of being a high level of nutrition literacy. Our results could assist public health authorities in developing strategies of nutrition literacy promotion for references and theoretical foundations.

Highlights

IntroductionChildhood is a key stage exhibiting rapid changes in physical growth, psychosocial development and behavioral modifications [1]
This study aimed to explore the NL status and its influencing factors amongst middle school students in Chongqing, China, which could pave the way for formulating strategies to improve the NL of Chinese students
Our findings showed that the NL of middle school students in Chongqing was at the moderate level

Summary

Introduction

Childhood is a key stage exhibiting rapid changes in physical growth, psychosocial development and behavioral modifications [1]. Unhealthy eating habits can predispose children to chronic disease [2] and weaken their learning capacity [3]. The growth of children is seriously threatened by malnutrition caused by poor dietary quality [4]. Unhealthy eating behavior can result in exceeded diet [5]. Adolescence is considered a vital period to lay the foundation for health, investment in adolescent health can promote adult health and the life quality of the generation [6]. Some studies have demonstrated that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought unhealthy dietary effects to children and adolescents, such as the increased intake of potato chip, red meat and sugary beverage [7, 8]

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