Association between nutrition literacy and the consumption of snacks and sweetened beverages among undergraduate students in the health sciences faculties of khon kaen university
Background and Objectives: Nutrition literacy is one
of the factors that affect the ability to choose the
right snacks and drinks. This study aimed to analyze
the association between ‘nutrition literacy’ and the
consumption of snacks and sweetened beverages
(SSBs) among undergraduate students of the health
sciences faculties of Khon Kaen University.
Methods: A total of 304 students participated in this
cross-sectional analytic study. A self-response
questionnaire was used to collect data including
general information, items of ‘nutrition literacy’ and
SSBs consumption. Energy, sugar, fat and sodium intakes
were calculated by the INMUCAL-N Version 4.0
Program. The association between nutrition literacy
scores and energy intake from SSBs consumption was
determined using multiple linear regression.
Results: The ‘Nutrition literacy’ of the subjects were
classified as high, moderate and low levels accounting
for 0.3, 73.7 and 26.0%, respectively. The energy
intake through SSBs consumption was 388 kcal/day.
The intake of fat and sugar from SSBs amounted to
14.4 and 32.2 g/day, and sodium 262.8 mg/day. According to a multiple regression analysis the score
of communication skill of ‘nutrition literacy’ was
statistically significantly and negatively correlated with
the energy intake from SSBs (coef.= -13.59, p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Those students who have higher score
of communication skill of nutrition literacy have lower
energy intakes from SSBs. Promoting communication
skill regarding the consumption of SSBs among the
students should be encouraged for healthy snacks
and beverages choosing.