Nutrition Literacy of Portuguese Adults—A Pilot Study

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Abstract

Nutrition is an essential factor in the prevention and treatment of some chronic diseases. For this reason, the population must know about nutrition, healthy food, and dietetics so that the promotion of healthier eating habits can lead to a consequent decrease in chronic disease incidence. That said, the present study aimed to assess nutrition literacy in the Portuguese population. Three hundred thirty participants aged between 18 and 65 years old were included in an observational, quantitative, and cross-sectional research. After the analysis, it was found that the vast majority of the study population (65.2%) had a good level of nutrition literacy. The participants having upper educational qualifications, following a specific diet, presenting an adequate BMI, having family members trained in the field of nutrition, and those who studied or worked in the field of health sciences reported a higher level of nutrition literacy. In conclusion, it seems to be essential to identify the population groups with the lowest nutrition knowledge so that it would be possible to apply personalized measures and to promote better literacy, reducing the prevalence and incidence of diseases and improving quality of life.

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Most cited references 26

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Development of a general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for adults.

K. Parmenter, J Wardle (1999)

This paper describes the development of a reliable and valid questionnaire to provide a comprehensive measure of the nutritional knowledge of UK adults. The instrument will help to identify areas of weakness in people's understanding of healthy eating and will also provide useful data for examining the relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary behaviour which, up until now, has been far from clear. Items were generated paying particular attention to content validity. The initial version of the questionnaire was piloted and assessed on psychometric criteria. Items which did not reach acceptable validity were excluded, and the final 50 item version was administered to two groups differing in nutritional expertise on two occasions to assess the construct validity and test-retest reliability. The questionnaire was developed in 1994 in the UK. Three hundred and ninety-one members of the general public, recruited via their places of work, completed the questionnaire at the piloting stage. The final version was administered to 168 dietetics and computer science students following a university lecture. The internal consistency of each section was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70-0.97) and the test-retest reliability was also well above the minimum requirement of 0.7. Nutrition experts scored significantly better than computer experts [F(1167) = 200.5, P<0.001], suggesting good construct validity. The findings demonstrate that the instrument meets psychometric criteria for reliability and construct validity. It should provide a useful scale with which to reassess the relationship between knowledge and dietary behaviour.

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Defining food literacy and its components.

Helen Anna Vidgen, Helen Anna Vidgen (2014)

Food literacy has emerged as a term to describe the everyday practicalities associated with healthy eating. The term is increasingly used in policy, practice, research and by the public; however, there is no shared understanding of its meaning. The purpose of this research was to develop a definition of food literacy which was informed by the identification of its components. This was considered from two perspectives: that of food experts which aimed to reflect the intention of existing policy and investment, and that of individuals, who could be considered experts in the everyday practicalities of food provisioning and consumption. Given that food literacy is likely to be highly contextual, this second study focused on disadvantaged young people living in an urban area who were responsible for feeding themselves. The Expert Study used a Delphi methodology (round one n=43). The Young People's Study used semi-structured, life-course interviews (n=37). Constructivist Grounded Theory was used to analyse results. This included constant comparison of data within and between studies. From this, eleven components of food literacy were identified which fell into the domains of: planning and management; selection; preparation; and eating. These were used to develop a definition for the term "food literacy". Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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The Nuances of Health Literacy, Nutrition Literacy, and Food Literacy.

Stefania Velardo (2015)

Health literacy, defined as the ability to access, understand, and use health information, has been identified as an international public health goal. The term nutrition literacy has emerged as a distinct form of health literacy, yet scholars continue to reflect on constituent skills and capabilities in light of discussions regarding what it means to be food literate and health literate. This viewpoint argues that a comprehensive conceptualization of nutrition literacy should reflect key elements of health literacy and food literacy constructs. Nutbeam's tripartite model of health literacy is employed to explore competencies that are likely to facilitate healthy food relationships.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Guglielmo Bonaccorsi: Role: Academic Editor

Chiara Lorini: Role: Academic Editor

Virginia Vettori: Role: Academic Editor

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): ijerph

Title: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Publisher: MDPI

ISSN (Print): 1661-7827

ISSN (Electronic): 1660-4601

Publication date (Electronic): 19 March 2021

Publication date Collection: March 2021

Volume: 18

Issue: 6

Electronic Location Identifier: 3177

Affiliations

[1 ]School of Sciences and Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Av. Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal; moniimonteiro12@ 123456gmail.com (M.M.); tatiana.fontes.97@ 123456gmail.com (T.F.)

[2 ]CBIOS—Universidade Lusófona’s Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies, Av. Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal

Author notes

[* ]Correspondence: cintia.pego@ 123456ulusofona.pt

Author information

Mónica Monteiro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6830-1104

Cíntia Ferreira-Pêgo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6930-4107

Article

Publisher ID: ijerph-18-03177

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063177

PMC ID: 8003506

PubMed ID: 33808637

SO-VID: 3f35d331-32d2-49d0-a6e2-ba2d2cc7f73e

License:

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Nutrition Literacy of Portuguese Adults—A Pilot Study

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Jiangsu Journal of Preventive Medicine

Most cited references 26

Development of a general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for adults.

Defining food literacy and its components.

The Nuances of Health Literacy, Nutrition Literacy, and Food Literacy.

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