Nutrition Literacy Status of the Elderly in Kutahya and Their Attitudes towards Healthy Nutrition

Abstract

Introduction: Nutritional literacy is defined as the capacity of individuals to access, process and understand basic nutritional information. Although food and nutrition literacy plays an important role in the development of healthy eating behaviours, there are various factors that facilitate and complicate this situation. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional literacy levels of individuals aged 60-64 years and their attitudes towards healthy nutrition. Materials and Method: The study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. It was conducted in March-June 2022 in family health centres in the central district of Kütahya. The sample of the study consisted of 400 individuals aged 60-64 years living in the city centre of Kütahya. The descriptive Socio-demographic Characteristics Data Form consisting of 17 items, the Nutrition Literacy Assessment Tool for Adults (NLSA), and the Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating Scale (ATHS) were used to collect the data. The data were collected by the researcher using face-to-face interview technique. SPSS 25.0, a statistical package programme, was used for research analyses. Results: The mean score of the elderly on the scale of nutrition literacy in adults was 20.99±5.325. The mean scores of the sub-dimensions; general nutrition knowledge 6,37±1,887, reading comprehension 3,89±1,118, food groups 7,70±1,538, portion sizes 2,15±0,752, numerical literacy and food label reading 0,87±1,185. The mean score of the attitude scale of the elderly towards healthy nutrition was 71,86±12,85. The mean scores of the sub-dimensions are; knowledge about nutrition 16,61±4,616, emotion towards nutrition 16,79±4,606, positive nutrition 19,39±4,282, bad nutrition 19,08±4,53. It was determined that the scores of participants with normal weight from the scale of nutritional literacy in adults were higher than those of overweight participants. It was observed that there was a positive relationship between Nutrition Literacy in Adults and Attitude towards Healthy Nutrition at a normal level (r=0.528, p<.01). Conclusion: According to the Attitudes Towards Healthy Nutrition Scale, 61% of the elderly were found to have a high level of attitude towards nutrition. It was observed that 29% of the elderly included in the study had adequate nutritional literacy level and 70.3% of the individuals had limited nutritional literacy,