Is nutritional literacy level in young adults associated with quality of life?

Abstract

This study was planned to examine the relationship between nutritional literacy level and quality of life in young adults. 234 students studying at Trakya University Faculty of Dentistry participated in the research. Study data were collected by online questionnaire between February and June 2022. 60.3% of the participants are women. The mean age, body weight, height and BMI of the individuals were 21.35 ±1.43 years, 64.76 ±15.8 kg, 169.86 ±8.50 cm, 21.22 ±3.63 kg/m2, respectively. 9.7% of the participants were underweight, 71.3% were normal weight, 19.7% were obese. While the average of the highest nutritional literacy score was found in thin individuals, the general nutritional knowledge score was found to be highest in normal weight individuals (p<0.05). Nutrition literacy level is sufficient in 82.5% of individuals. This rate was found to be 95.2% in the thin and 67.4% in the obese (p<0.05). Food label reading and numerical literacy scores were higher in men than in women (p<0.05). When the quality of life subscales were examined, the MCS-12 (Mental Component Summary) subscale scores were found to be higher in normal-weight subjects than in thin and obese subjects (p<0.05). As the students' nutritional literacy level increased, their PCS-12 (Physical Component Summary) and MCS-12 subscale scores increased (p<0.05). As the general nutrition knowledge subscale score increased, an increase was found in the MCS-12 subscale score in both women and men (p<0.05). Increasing the awareness of university students about nutritional literacy and providing the necessary training can be beneficial in increasing the quality of life.