Background: Adolescent nutrition literacy and knowledge are associated with nutrient intake and obesity. With the rising prevalence of obesity in Kuwait, limited studies have assessed nutrition literacy among Kuwaiti adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to assess nutrition literacy among Kuwaiti adolescents and examine factors associated with nutrition literacy, such as body mass index (BMI) and dietary intake.
Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in public schools across Kuwait, enrolling a convenience sample of 375 adolescents (mean age = 15.6 years, 53.1% female participants). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. The Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument (NLit) score was used to assess nutrition knowledge and skills in making food choices.
Results: The median NLit score among adolescents was 29 (IQR = 6). A large percentage (72.5%) of Kuwaiti adolescents demonstrated adequate overall nutrition literacy and scored adequately in the majority of NLit subscales. However, the majority of adolescents (73.3%) demonstrated inadequate nutrition literacy in understanding food labels. Predictors of NLit included BMI, place of residence, and smoking status. Moreover, the NLit score was negatively associated with the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Conclusion: This study's findings may inform future research aimed at designing effective nutrition literacy interventions to enhance food choices among adolescents in Kuwait. The results of this study may also provide insights for policymakers and public health professionals to tailor food and nutrition programs to address the decline in food literacy skills and combat obesity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1453484 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
January 2025
Department of Public Health, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon 78211, Israel.
Background: Social media platforms have become integral to daily life and increasingly disseminate health, nutrition, and food information. While these platforms can offer evidence-based nutrition education and meal planning guidance, a significant portion of content promotes unrealistic beauty standards and unhealthy weight-loss practices, potentially contributing to disordered eating behaviors. The increasing prevalence of disordered eating, characterized by abnormal eating behaviors and attitudes, has become a global public health concern.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Eat Disord
January 2025
Centre Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS), Institut sur la Nutrition et les Aliments Fonctionnels, Université Laval, 2440, boulevard Hochelaga Québec, Quebec, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Background: Despite being the most prevalent eating disorder, Binge eating disorder (BED) remains largely unrecognized and lacks awareness among the general public, where it is also highly stigmatized. Common stigma surrounding BED includes the belief that individuals with this disorder are responsible for their condition and lack willpower and self-control. Research on BED recognition and stigma among lay adults is scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Public Health
January 2025
Fbeta GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
Fam Community Health
January 2025
Author Affiliations: Department of Health and Sport Sciences (Dr King, Dr O'Neal), School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences (Dr Brown, Dr Elmore), Department of Communications (Dr Della), School of Nursing (Dr Hartson), University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky; University of Cincinnati, School of Social Work (Dr Bloomer), Cincinnati, Ohio; Jefferson County Public Schools (Ms Perez), Louisville, Kentucky; and Food Literacy Project, Inc. (Ms Gundersen), Louisville, Kentucky.
Background And Objectives: Community-based organizations, such as Food Literacy Project, Inc. (FLP), focused on cultivating food justice through increasing access to healthy foods in under-resourced areas are uniquely positioned to positively affect the nutrition landscape. This article reports on an evaluation of FLP's efforts in implementing food justice programming.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
December 2024
Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, 85 Park Road Grafton, Auckland 1011, New Zealand.
Background: Young women spend 50 min daily on social media (SM); thus, SM platforms are promising for health interventions. This study tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the co-designed SM intervention the Daily Health Coach (DHC). The DHC is a 3-month healthy lifestyles intervention programme, targeting eating, physical activity, and social wellbeing behaviours in women aged 18-24, via the dissemination of health and nutrition content on social media platform Instagram.
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