SRINAGARIND MEDICAL JOURNAL

Volume 35, No. 02, Month MARCH, Year 2020, Pages 183 - 192

Association between nutrition literacy and the consumption of snacks and sweetened beverages among undergraduate students in the health sciences faculties of khon kaen university

Kawinda Visedkaew, Benja Muktabhant

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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.

Keywords

Nutrition literacy, snack, sweetened beverage, student

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