ANKMJ

Ankyra Medical Journal (AnkMJ), formerly known as the Journal of Translational and Practical Medicine, regularly publishes international quality issues in the field of Medicine in the light of current information.

EndNote Style
Index
Original Article
Does the nutritional literacy of adolescents affect their eating behavior?
Aims: Diseases such as obesity. diabetes. hypertension. which develop as a result of the deterioration in the diet quality of adolescent individuals in our country and around the world and unhealthy eating habits acquired during this period. pose a risk for future health. Adolescents need to correctly perceive. evaluate and apply nutrition-related information for healthy food consumption. For this reason, studies have been conducted in recent years on nutrition literacy. which is defined as the ability to acquire. understand and adopt basic nutrition information. This study was designed to determine whether the adolescents nutritional literacy (ANL) is effective in the eating behaviors of individuals.
Methods: This cross-sectionally planned study was conducted between June April-June 2022 at Kırıkkale University Faculty of Medicine Department of Child Health and Diseases. The sociodemographic characteristics. nutritional literacy and eating behaviors of adolescents were determined by face-to-face interview method and their anthropometric measurements were examined. These measurements were evaluated with the height length of adolescents according to age, body mass index (BMI) Z scores. The participants' nutritional literacy was revealed with the ‘ANL Scale‘ and their eating behaviors were revealed with the ’Adolescent Eating Habits Checklist' (AEHC).
Results: Of the 220 volunteer adolescents who participated in the study. 62.3% were girls and 37.7% were boys. The Functional Nutritional Literacy (FNL) score of girls was higher than that of boys (p=0.01). The total score of the Adolescent Nutrition Literacy (ANL) Scale. Interactive Nutrition Literacy (INL). Critical Nutrition Literacy (CNL) and Adolescent Eating Habits Checklist (AEHC) scores were lower for adolescents who did not do regular physical activity (p<0.05). The total score of the ANL Scale. CNL and AEHC scores of the adolescents who did not consume fast food were higher than those of the adolescents who consumed fast food (p<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the frequency of fast food consumption and AEHC score (p<0.05).
Conclusion: As a result of the study. it was found that adequate nutrition literacy of adolescents can have a positive effect on their eating habits. For this reason, it was considered necessary to provide education to adolescents in order to increase awareness of nutritional literacy.


1. WHO (2002). Adolescent Friendly Health Services. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.searo.who.int/en/section13/section1245_4980.htm. [Access date 16.03.2023].
2. Wahl R. Nutrition in the adolescent. <em>Pediatr Ann</em>. 1999;28(2):107-111.
3. Taleb S, Itani L. Nutrition literacy among adolecents and ıt is association with eating habits and BMI in Tripoli Lebanon. <em>Diseases</em>. 2021;29;9(2):25
4. Koca B, Arkan G. The relationship between adolescents&rsquo; nutrition literacy and food habits. and affecting factors. <em>Public Health Nurition. </em>2020;24(4):717-728
5. Aihara Y, Minai J. Barriers and catalysts of nutrition literacy among elderly Japanese people. <em>Health Promot Int</em>. 2011;26(4):421-431
6. Neuhouser ML. The importance of healthy dietary patterns in chronic disease prevention. <em>Nutr Res</em>. 2019;70:3-6. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2018.06.002
7. Silva P. Food and nutrition literacy: exploring the divide between research and practice. <em>Foods</em>. 2023;12(14):27519.
8. Carbone ET, Zoelner JM. Nutrition and health literacy: a systematic review to ınform nutrition research and practice. <em>Acad Nutr Diet</em>. 2012;112.254-265.
9. Joulei H, Keshani P, Kaveh MH. Nutrition Literacy as a Determinant for quality amongst young adolents a crossectional study. <em>Progres in Nutrition. </em>2018;20(3): 455- 464.
10. WHO. BMI-for-age (5-19 years). https://www.who.int/tools/growth-reference-data-for-5 to19-years/indicators/bmi-for-age. Access date:30.07.2024
11. Bari NN. Nutrition literacy status of adolescent students in Kampala district. Uganda. Master Thesis. Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (Master&rsquo;s thesis). Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. Lillestr&oslash;m. Norway. (2012)
12. T&uuml;rkmen AS, Kalkan İ, Filiz E. Adaptatıon of adolescent nutrıtıon lıteracy scale ınto turkısh: a valıdıty and relıabılıty nternational. <em>J Nutr Res</em>.2017;10:1-16.
13. Johnson V, Wardle J, Grift J. The Adolecent Food Habit Checklist: realibilty and validity mesaure of heathy eating behavior in adolecents. <em>Eur J Clin Nutr</em>. 2002;56(7):644-9.
14. Paoli A, Tinsley G, Bianco A, Moro T. The ınfluence of meal frequency and timing on health in humans: the role of fasting. <em>Nutrients. </em>2019;11(4):719. doi:10.3390/nu11040719
15. Akman M, Akan H, Izbirak G, et al. Eating patterns of Turkish adolescents: a cross-sectional survey. <em>Nutr J.</em> 2010;9:67. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-9-67
16. Yavuz. CM, &Ouml;zer BK. Ad&ouml;lesan d&ouml;nem okul &ccedil;ocuklarında beslenme alışkanlıkları ve beslenme durumunun değerlendirilmesi. <em>J Tourism Gastronomy Studies.</em>2019;7(1):225-243.
17. Poti JM, Braga B, Qin B. Ultra-processed food ıntake and obesity: what really matters for health-processing or nutrient content? <em>Curr Obes Rep. </em>2017;6(4):420-431. doi:10.1007/s13679-017-0285-4
18. Fuhrman J. The hidden dangers of fast and processed food. <em>Am J Lifestyle Med</em>. 2018; 12,5:375-381.
19. Poti JM, Braga B, Qin B. Ultra-processed food ıntake and obesity: what really matters for health-processing or nutrient content? <em>Curr Obes Rep. </em>2017;6(4):420-431. doi:10.1007/s13679-017-0285-4
20. Li L, Sun N, Zhang L, et al. Fast food consumption among young adolescents aged 12-15 years in 54 low- and middle-income countries. <em>Glob Health Action</em>. 2020;13(1):1795438. doi:10.1080/16549716.2020.1795438
21. de Rezende LF, Azeredo CM, Silva KS, et al. The role of school environment in physical activity among Brazilian adolescents. <em>PLoS One. </em>2015;10(6):e0131342. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131342
22. WHO. (2022). Physical activity. [https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ physical-activity]. Access date :23.8.2023].
23. Herting MM, Chu X. Exercise. cognition. and the adolescent brain. <em>Birth Defects Res</em>. 2017;1;109(20):1672-1679.
24. Oja L, Piks&ouml;&ouml;t J. Physical activity and sports participation among adolescents: associations with sports-related knowledge and attitudes. <em>Int J Environ Res Public Health</em>. 2022;19(10):6235. doi:10.3390/ijerph19106235
25. Carskadon MA. Sleep in adolescents: the perfect storm. <em>Pediatr Clin North Am</em>. 2011;58(3): 637-647.
26. Owens J. Adolescent Sleep Working Group. Insufficient sleep in adolescents and young adults: an update on causes and consequences. <em>Pediatrics</em>. 2014;134(3):e921-e932.
27. Olds T, Maher C, Blunden S, Matricciani L. Normative data on the sleep habits of Australian children and adolescents. <em>Sleep</em>. 2010;33(10):1381-1388.
28. De Sanctis V, Soliman A, Alaaraj N, Ahmed S, Alyafei F, Hamed N. Early and long-term consequences of nutritional stunting: from childhood to adulthood. <em>Acta Biomed</em>. 2021; 92(1):e2021168. doi:10.23750/abm.v92i1.11346
29. Erdoğan G&ouml;vez N, Akpınar Şent&uuml;re Ş, Ayten Ş, K&ouml;ksal E. Evaluation of the Turkey Nutrition and Health Surveys according to the mediterranean adequacy index and sustainability through water footprints. <em>Public Health Nutr. </em>2023;26(12):2927-2935. doi:10.1017/S1368980023001957
30. &Ouml;zer BK, &Ouml;zdemir A, &Ouml;nal S, Yavuz CM. Evaluation of growth status in Ankara School children and adolescents aged 6-17 years. <em>Antropology. </em>2020:39:74-78.
31. Şanlıer N, Konaklıoğlu E, G&uuml;&ccedil;er E. The Relation Between Body Mass Indexes and Nutritional Knowledge. Habit and Behavior of Youths. <em>J Gazi Fac Educ</em>. 2009;29(2):333-352
32. Joulaei H, Keshani P, Kaveh MH. Nutrition literacy as a determinant for diet quality amongst young adolescents: a cross sectional study. <em>Progress in Nutrition.</em> 2018;20:455-464.
33. Galvan-Portillo M, S?nchez E, C?rdenas-C?rdenas LM, et al. Dietary patterns in Mexican children and adolescents: Characterization and relation with socioeconomic and home environment factors. <em>Appetite. </em>2018;121:275-284
34. Keskin K, Alpkaya U, Cubuk A, &Ouml;zt&uuml;rk Y. Analysis of therelationship between the levels of physical activity and thenutritional behaviours of 12-14 year old children. <em>İstanbul Univ J Sports Sci</em>. 2017;7:1303-1414.
35. Guttersrud &Oslash;, Petterson KS. Young adolescents&rsquo; engagement in dietary behaviour - the impact of gender, socio-economic status, self-efficacy and scientific literacy. Methodological aspects of constructing measures in nutrition literacy research using the Rasch model. <em>Public Health Nutr. </em>2015;18(14):2565-2574. doi:10.1017/S1368980014003152
36. Yılmazel G, Bozdoğan S. Nutrition literacy. dietary habits and food label use among Turkish adolescents. <em>Progress in Nutrition</em> 2021;23;1.
37. Anders TF, Eiben LA. Pediatric sleep disorders: a review of the past 10 years. <em>J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.</em> 1997;36(1):9-20. doi:10.1097/00004583-199701000-00012
38. Carskadon MA. Sleep in adolescents: the perfect storm. <em>Pediatr Clin North Am</em>. 2011;58(3):637-647.
39. Lafci &Ccedil;. Determination of Nutrition Literacy Level in Adolescents: Samsun Province Example. (Master&rsquo;s Thesis). Ondokuz Mayıs University Graduate Education Institute. Samsun, 2021.
40. Dennison BA, Edmunds LS. The role of television in childhood obesity. <em>Prog Pediatr Cardiol</em>. 2008;25:191-197.
41. Cornish LS, Moreas C. The Impact of Consumer Confusion on Nutrition Literacy and Subsequent Dietary Behavior. <em>Psychology and Marketing.</em> 2015;32(5):558-574.
42. Can T, Kaya Şahin A. Nutrition literacy in adolescence. <em>Curr Perspect Health Sci.</em> 2022;3(2):74-81.
43. Smith SG, Curtis LM, Wardle J, von Wagner C, Wolf MS. Skill set or mind set? Associations between health literacy, patient activation and health. <em>PLoS One</em>. 2013;8(9):e74373.
44. Krause C, Sommerhalder K, Beer-Borst S, Abel T. Just a subtle difference? Findings from a systematic review on definitions of nutrition literacy and food literacy. <em>Health Promot Int</em>. 2018;33(3):378-389. doi:10.1093/heapro/daw084
45. Guttersrud O, Dalane J&Oslash;, Pettersen S. Improving measurement in nutrition literacy research using Rasch modelling: examining construct validity of stage-specific &lsquo;critical nutrition literacy&rsquo; scales. <em>Public Health Nutr</em>. 2014;17(4):877-883
46. Kopan D, Hassoy H, Ergin I, Meseri R. Evaluation of the nutritional habits of second-year high school students in the Seferihisar region with the ecological framework. <em>Rev Nutr.</em> 2021;34:e200089. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-9865202134e200089
47. Sichert-Hellert W, Beghin L, De Henauw S, et al. Nutritional knowledge in European adolescents: results from the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study. <em>Public Health Nutr. </em>2011;14(12):2083-2091. doi:10.1017/S1368980011001352
Volume 3, Issue 5, 2024
Page : 107-115
_Footer